Away On A Beach
by Huggles4All
Summary: A week at the beach, practically unsupervised, for Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, as well as all their classmates, chaparoned by the famous Fred and George. Add some definite romance, humor, and some mischief and it'll surely be the trip of their lives.
1. The Annual Upperclassman Getaway Gala

_Away on a Beach_

Chapter 1: The Annual Upperclassmen Getaway Gala

It was a chilly, cool time of year. September the first always brought excitement and anticipation that the beginning of a year at Hogwarts could only bring. And on the Hogwarts Express, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger were reviewing their summers and enjoying the company of their closest friends. Ginny Weasley, Ron's sister, was also joining in on all the fun, and Luna Lovegood was a compartment over.

It was as the sun was setting and the foursome was admiring the beauty of it, that Luna came thundering in their compartment, opening the door so suddenly, that all 4 jumped as soon as she slammed the door shut behind her.

"Oh...my...god! Guess what I just heard!!" Luna practically shouted at the now attentive four.

"What?" they all asked in unison to one another, each just as scared as the next at what Luna was about to tell them. Luna had a very... interesting aspect about her. Many described her as just plain weird.

"Well, a little gossip bird just told me that this year's Annual Upperclassman Getaway Gala is to the South Shore!" She said excitedly.

"What 'Gala'?" Ron asked, his brow furrowed.

"Sorry, Ronald, no time to explain. Dumbledore'll explain everything at the feast. But now, we've arrived at school. See you all inside." And she left.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were left in a state of confusion, and didn't speak much until they reached the Great Hall, where they got their seats at the long Gryffindor table, the famous trio anticipating their Sixth year at Hogwarts.

"Welcome, welcome to yet another Hogwarts school year." Dumbledore started, "from what people have asked me, there have been rumors encircling the train about a trip for our upperclassmen. I won't keep you all waiting. There is indeed going to be a trip this year. A trip that, several years ago, was banned from happening is to be starting again this year. This trip is known as the Annual Hogwarts Upperclassmen Getaway Gala and it's journeying to South Shore, which is both a muggle and wizard community, for a week. This trip was open to only 6th and 7th years previously, but after much discussion amongst my colleagues, we've decided that 5th years are also able to come."

Ginny shrieked from excitement. Did this mean that she, Ginny Weasley, would be spending a whole week with Harry Potter at a romantic beach, flirting and having a good time? Dear god, she hoped so. That in mind, she shrieked again and couldn't stop smiling.

Dumbledore continued. "This 'Gala' will cost 40 galleons a person, plus spending money."

Ginny and Ron groaned. Their family didn't have a lot of money, barely any actually, and they knew 80 galleons wouldn't be something they could afford to use. But they would find a way, they would have to. As Ron shot a glance towards Hermione and Ginny to Harry, they both knew they would go to great lengths to get the money they needed. They had to. Hermione looked at Ron, and caught him staring. Ron blushed scarlet at this and Hermione looked away, a little red in the face herself.

"I believe that is all I have to say at this moment. I won't starve any of you any longer. Let's eat!" Dumbledore concluded, and all the tables filled instantly with delicious fried chicken, mashed potatoes, and a various display of vegetables and starches. Ron didn't wait a minute for the others, and dove into eating as much food as he could. However, his enjoyment was soon interrupted by a familiar drawl from behind him.

"So, Weaselby, can your family afford to lose 80 galleons? I suppose you lot won't eat for a year after this." Malfoy sneered.

"Shove off, Malfoy!" Hermione snapped.

"Weasel, bet you can't wait to get Granger to yourself for a week. I bet you've got all sorts of 'innocent' fantasies planned out for the two of you." Malfoy laughed and sniggered.

Ron blushed deep scarlet and Hermione noticed. "Sounds like you're writing yourself a little play there, Malfoy. Now, shove off and shut up before I make you!" Ron bellowed at him, outraged and embarrassed.

Malfoy shook his head and turned back to his cronies. Ron turned back to his group, all of which had been staring at him throughout Malfoy's comment. They snapped their heads back to their food and busily began eating again. Ron shook it off and pretended like nothing ever happened.

_Omigod! That was so embarrassing! I hope Hermione didn't notice me blushing. How could she not, it was probably so obvious. I mean, it's not like what the little git said was true. I've never imagined fantasies about me and her, or... have I? No, I haven't! I...definitely... have not. I mean, I don't even like Hermione. Not like THAT anyways, just as a friend. Just as a friend. _Ron told himself and kept eating his food.

The stars shined bright above them, as everyone drifted off to sleep later that night, memories and excitement flooding their minds.


	2. Preperation and Departure

Chapter 2: Preparation and Departure

In the next 7 months that followed into late March, 'Gala' meetings were held to discuss codes of behavior, late night curfews, rules regarding boys and girls, what to pack, what not to pack, and other things in order to prepare for the trip. The dues were paid, and Ron and Ginny managed to raise the money during Christmastime by selling handmade scarves and mittens in Hogsmeade to passersby. They ended up making over 150 galleons, giving them both the funds for the trip, as well as extra spending money, and some to spend in Honeydukes and Zonko's. Ron, of course, enjoyed the extra gold, and returned back to Hogwarts each Hogsmeade weekend with huge bags full of sweets and pranks. Hermione was none too pleased.

Also in that time, their room assignments were given. Hermione signed up to room with Ginny, Luna, and Hannah Abbott, who she'd come to be really close with over the past few months. Hermione didn't know if it was because she thought Hannah had broken up with Ernie and had her eyes on some Gryffindor guys, or whether she really enjoyed Hermione's company.

Ron was rooming with Harry, of course, as well as fellow Gryffindors Seamus Finnigan and Neville Longbottom. Ron had been following Harry's newfound display of unusual affection towards his little sister and his casual and sometimes, not-so-subtle flirting in the common room and corridors. However, Ron chose not to speak because he knew whatever made them happy, made him happy. Just as long as they weren't unusually passionately happy in front of him. But he knew Ginny had always liked Harry, even throughout last year, and he had encouraged Harry to pursue Ginny as a love interest for the past couple years. But it took Harry several years to become infatuated with Ginny, and now that he was, he couldn't stop. (A/N: They're not going out, Harry just really likes Ginny)

Now it was April 4th, and neither Ron, nor any of his roommates were even close to being fully packed, even though Hermione kept popping in on them while they were playing Exploding Snap in the common room and shouting at them that the Knight Buses left at noon the following morning and that the buses wouldn't wait for anyone. They shrugged her off, and went to play more games before they decided that it was important that they actually did pack before sunrise.

"Oy Harry! Are you done yet?" Ron shouted from across the boys' dormitories, where he was bent over his trunk trying to find little things and tossing clothes in it in a way that would make Hermione go mad.

"Far from it! Are you bringing any school work? What about a chess set?" Harry yelled back, he too rummaging throughout his trunk for everything, and desperately trying to find the clothes that, he thought, would make him irresistible to certain... girls.

"Bloody hell, no! Why would I work on a vacation? Are you crazy?! I'm not Hermione! Yeah, I already packed a chess set for the bus ride. And I have some Quidditch books and a portable Quaffle for the beach. Are you bringing your own towel?" Ron asked, getting tired.

"Nah, I'll use the hotels." Harry said, almost as tired as his friend.

Both of them closed their trunks at the same time, leaving plenty of room for goodies and keepsakes. Seamus, Neville, and Dean had finished an hour before, and were snoring in bed behind them. Harry climbed into bed but didn't close his eyes. Ron went to his own bed, but just sat on the end of it. He was deep in thought. Harry, seeing Ron awake, sat up in his bed.

"Ron? Is everything alright?" Harry asked, his voice expressing mild concern.

"Well, no. There's something I discovered about myself about a week ago, something I never knew and certainly never expected." He said, not sounding so tired anymore.

"What is it?" Harry asked, now interested.

"ilikehermione." Ron said quickly.

"Huh?" Harry said.

"I like Hermione. Okay? I said it. I like her, a lot. In fact, I think it might be more than just like. I think I'm in love her. That's why I've been so jealous over the Vicky thing and why I've been blushing like mad whenever she looks at me, or when she smiles at me when I do something stupid." He said, and began to get lost in a trance.

"I always thought you might've liked her. I mean, you display affection towards her every chance you get. But I don't think Hermione suspects anything, so don't worry. But I can't believe it took you 3 years took discover what the rest of us, excluding Hermione, have known since the day you two met on the train. Good for you, man." Harry said, a smile creeping on his face.

"It's not good! She's my best friend! This is going to be really weird! How am I supposed to explain this? I don't know what to do with myself anymore! What do I do, Harry, what do I do? I think about her constantly and whenever I'm around her, I have a really strong urge to hug her, kiss her, and just hold her. I just want to make her mine." Ron said, a little stressed out.

"That's sweet, mate. But I don't know what to tell you. Go with your instincts and this is gonna sound really cliché, but follow your heart. If you feel you should tell her, tell her. But if you don't, you may let her get away, and that would hurt more than not ever telling her" Harry said, growing soft.

"Mate, don't go all Ginny on me. I know you like her and you fancy her, but don't act like her!" Ron laughed.

Harry laughed. "Okay, I'll try not to."

And they both drifted off to sleep, Ron feeling as though a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders, but now feeling the burden of someone knowing. He slept easily, dreams of Hermione floating his mind.

Hermione and all the rest of the girls had packed several nights earlier, and had gotten a good night's sleep the following night, waking to a feeling of fulfillment and contentment. She went down to breakfast a little early, and just sat there daydreaming off into space, when about an hour later, she was joined seeing Harry sitting across from her and Ron at her right side.

"Hey Hermione" Harry said cheerfully.

"Mornin' 'Mione" Ron smiled.

_Why'd he have to call me 'Mione? Does he know how much he makes me melt whenever he calls me by a nickname? And that smile, I hope I'm not blushing too much. I think it was his smile I first noticed about him. The smile that makes me want to throw myself at him! I want one of those smiles for me and only me. _Hermione thought to herself before Harry snapped back her attention to the people around her. She blushed a light shade of pink and returned to her meal.

The trio talked about the upcoming trip all throughout breakfast, and were joined by their fellow roommates in the process. They all talked until about 11 o'clock when they split so they could go get their belongings from their dormitories and meet back in the entrance hall for a role call and board the 3 buses.

They all ran up to the Gryffindor common room, Hannah to the Hufflepuff common room, and Luna to Ravenclaw. They met in the entrance hall, answered the call of their names to Professor McGonnagal, and boarded Knight Bus #2. They dropped off their trunks and luggage at the foot of the bus, so their belongings could be packed below the bus.

Harry and Seamus were deep in conversation, so they took seats next to each other. Ron didn't mind, it was 2 more people who weren't sitting next to Hermione.

Ginny and Luna boarded next, and took seats behind Harry and Seamus. _Two more down _Ron thought.

Neville and Hannah boarded together and got seats together by fault, each looking uncomfortable as the next. They took seats opposite Ginny and Luna, Hannah at the aisle and Neville at the window, already beginning to doze.

Hermione was waiting behind Ron. Ron took a seat at the window across from Harry and Seamus and his heart nearly exploded when he witnessed what happened next. Hermione came on the bus, her hair dripping from the rain. She came up next to Ron, and sat down next to him, making Ron jump a little. Ron's heart was pounding and he kept smiling. As Hermione was deep in conversation with a bored Hannah behind her, Ron could see Harry making motions to Ron from the next seat over. Ron chuckled and waved Harry off before Hermione turned back to face forward as the buses began to move.

Fred and George stood up in the front. Dumbledore had elected them Alumni Chaperones, because they hadn't gotten a trip, had a lot of free time away from the shop, and were really enthusiastic to tell the little students what to do, and to be an authority figure to them all. They each brought a guest with them so they wouldn't be lonely. Fred brought his fiancée, Angelina Johnson, or the soon-to-be Angelina Weasley. The two had begun going out the summer before, and didn't want to wait to become engaged. They were to marry the upcoming summer. George brought his girlfriend of 7 months, Katie Bell, and there were rumors the two were expecting a child and that George was going to propose to Katie this week. Harry didn't doubt the rumor, because it was highly like George to do things on an impulse. The two were always so happy around each other and Harry noted that when around Katie, George was the happiest he'd ever been in his life.

One hour after the buses left Hogwarts, there was the buzzing chatter of voices by all the excited students as the buses rolled along the muggle highways through rain puddles and the sounds of billowing thunder were heard overhead. Hannah and Neville just seemed to like to pretend the other didn't exist and stared out the window bored, watching the raindrops trickle their ways down the windows and Neville tracing the raindrops with his finger, yawning and sighing every so often.

Harry and Seamus were in a heated debate over Quidditch teams, Seamus saying that Ireland was going to pull ahead again for the Quidditch World Cup, and Harry disagreeing, but siding with Ron that this was the year that the Chudley Cannons were going to make it all the way to the Cup. Ron dropped a comment and little factoid every now and then, contributing to Harry's Cannons argument.

Ginny and Luna were in deep interest over the latest Teen Witch and Witch Weekly, comparing articles and the latest gossip. Luna was also saying how some of the gossip about the Weird Sisters and how the Crumple-Horned Snorkacks were breeding and becoming much more largely populated this year. Ginny, Harry noticed, just seemed to roll her eyes but go with Luna's story anyway just to make things simpler.

And Hermione, of course, was pouring over various school books so she wouldn't fall behind in her workload. At the present moment, she was searching the pages of A Beginner's Guide to Transfiguration, Vol. 6. But at long last she set down the book, packed her school things away and yawned a deep and heavy yawn. She rested her head back on the headrest and closed her eyes for a brief second.

"'Mione? Are you getting sleepy?" Ron asked, watching her.

"No, I'm awake, I'm fully awake." She replied tiredly, her eyes still closed. Then, she rested her head on Ron's shoulder, and Ron could her breathing steady out more, and knew that she was asleep. Ron smiled as he watched her sleep on his shoulder. She looked so peaceful.

Ron, not knowing what came over him, lifted his left hand from the armrest on the windowsill, and brought it up to over her head. Gently and carefully, he lowered his hand to her curly, brown hair and began stroking it. He smiled as he did this, and became transfixed at her sight. He played with one of her curls, letting it bounce off his finger. Then he heard, and felt her stir. He stopped dead in his tracks, not breathing for fear of being caught playing with her hair. She just moved her head a little, and Ron exhaled slowly, from relief. He brought his hand back down, and stroked her hair again affectionately. He loved how soft her hair was against his skin, and how it smelled like apples.

She stirred again, only this time, she woke up, to find Ron's hand on her head, playing with her hair. Her eyes opened suddenly and she stared into Ron's gorgeous, aqua and cobalt blue eyes. _Oh my god! What's he doing playing with my hair? His touch is so soft and affectionate with those strong hands; I don't want him to stop! Why must he smile at me? His eyes are so mesmerizing! Why is he locking eyes with me? I don't mind it at all... but he's so dreamy! _She thought, and kept her eyes locked with his.

Ron, horrorstruck that she caught him, stared into her chocolate brown eyes, and became transfixed once more at her. He noticed that her pupils grew larger when she was embarrassed, and that her gaze softened as he looked into her eyes, and she stared back. He smiled one of his famous Ron smiles that made a lot of the girls at Hogwarts swoon over him. He had grown a lot in the past year, both emotionally and physically. He had retained six-pack abs from Quidditch practices and had gotten a rather nice tan from being outdoors so much. His hair was messy in a way that looked hot on only him, and his cheeks were beginning to blush again.

Hermione, still tired, went back to sleep on his shoulder as Ron mumbled something about being sorry. She fell asleep almost instantly, keeping her eyes closed, but thinking of Ron nonetheless. She was completely asleep, and dreaming.

Ron, feeling tired himself, rested his head on top of hers, closed his eyes, and drifted off into a pleasant slumber.

The two slept for several hours, and when they finally awoke, it was pitch black outside and they were nearing South Shore. It had stopped raining a ways back, and the stars shone brightly overhead and the waning moon was casting light on the near-darkened streets. Everyone else on the bus was awakened by someone, as the final hour loomed and excitement was wakened so that the bus was loud and busy. There were songs singing, loud chattering, and Fred and George busy with their 'special guests' up front. Games of Truth or Dare were going on in the back of the bus a few seats behind Ginny and Luna, and secrets were revealed, some for the better, some for the worse. Every few minutes, there would be the loud cheering as a guy was pressured to kiss a girl and when he did, the cheering would commence to be louder and more excited.

Finally, they saw their hotel at 8 o'clock PM. The three buses pulled into the driveway of the South Shore Resort and Hotel, which was a very tall building on the wizarding side of town, painted an off-white color and trimmed with a blue paint. There had to be at least 14 floors, each room with a balcony overlooking the ocean or the streets. A sign welcoming its visitors to the Hotel was at the end of the driveway and even in the dark, you could see the ocean and beach behind the building.

The buses stopped and Professor McGonagall came on board telling the students to behave themselves, and to respect the others staying in the hotel. She said they were to return to their rooms by no later than midnight each night, unless told otherwise that they could stay out later. They were to stay within the hotel grounds and no one was to visit another's room under any circumstances. Those that did were to be sent back to Hogwarts immediately, no money returned. The students nodded hurriedly and Professor McGonagall gave them their room numbers and room keys.

Hermione, Ginny, Hannah, and Luna were to be staying in room #230, and Ron, Harry, Neville, and Seamus were assigned to room #419. Both sides had to admit to themselves that they were disappointed that the opposite sex was on a different floor, but they knew there were ways around rules and restrictions, despite what McGonagall told them.

Hermione and the rest of the girls went up the stairs and to the elevator to the 2nd floor, where they found room #230, unlocked it using the keys they were presented with, and went into the room, dragging their trunks, bags, and garment bags with them.

The room was a suite, and the door opened on the bottom left side and opened into a room where 2 full beds lay side-by-side to one another with dark blue comforters with a beach print on them, and a wicker nightstand stood in between them with a Wizard Telephone on it. An entertainment unit stood opposite the beds with a Muggle Television and there were drawers for clothing space.

Following beyond the bedroom area, to the left was a rather spacious closet with built-in ironing board, and opposite that was a mini-wall length mirror with double sinks and counter space. A door stood in between it all and through that oak door was a toilet and shower/bath.

Walking past the bathroom and closet, was a rather open room where a pullout couch lay by the entrance and a round, circular table stood with 4 chairs at each pole. On the preceding wall was a long counter with cabinet space and a sink, and another muggle television sat on an entertainment unit following the wall. A screen door sat between the table and TV, and it led outside to a balcony, equipped with a patio table and chairs, and overlooking the outdoor pool and ocean. They could see the area of the indoor pool where the building jet out. All four girls dropped their bags and ran to the balcony. All of them sighed dreamily and marveled at the beauty of the ocean.

The boys made the way up to their room, which was identical to the girls. They dropped their bags messily over the two beds, and Harry and Ron proceeded to jump up and down on the beds, just being boys. Neville and Seamus grabbed pillows off the bed and started whacking the crap out of the jumping Harry and Ron, Ron of which was hit swiftly in the ankles and tumbled down on his back on the bed. He laughed it off then grabbed a pillow of his own and began seeking revenge upon Neville, whom had hit him.

Harry stopped jumping and surveyed the scene of the fighting Neville, Seamus, and Ron. He laughed and began cheering on random people. He then began running around and jumping on the bed, and while attempting to jump really high, his right foot slipped and he fell to the floor with a loud "thud". The other boys began laughing and tossed him his own pillow and the four guys fought to the brink. They laughed the whole time, causing Seamus to go into hysterical fits of laughter and all of them to lie back in defeat. They each separated to their own areas of sleeping; Harry and Ron each in a full-sized bed; Seamus on the pullout-couch, and Neville on the floor. They muttered their good nights, and Ron could hear the sounds of everyone asleep around him.

Ron wasn't tired, though. Memories of the bus ride there were playing back in his mind over and over. Memories of her sleeping on his shoulder, memories of her laughing at his side, and memories of them talking throughout all the times they were awake. Then, Ron drifted to sleep, thinking of Hermione and only her.

Hermione and the other girls decided just to share beds, so that everything was fair and no one ended up on the floor. None of them minded, though, so they drew names from a hat to decide what beds each would wind up in. Hermione wound up in the same bed as Hannah, and it worked out that Ginny winded up with Luna. The girls all changed into their nightclothes, took their beds, said "good night" and went to sleep.

Hermione, however, couldn't sleep knowing what had happened on the bus. She had fallen asleep on Ron's shoulder. She didn't do it on purpose; she just sort of, subconsciously, leaned on his shoulder for support. His shoulders were brooding, yet tender and bracing. She could remember, while sleeping, feeling his soft and gentle touch on her head, and waking up to catch him playing with her hair and smiling at her when she woke up. That smile. He locked eyes with her and she returned the gaze. His eyes were always comforting and caring. Slowly, Hermione drifted off the sleep, thinking of Ron and only him.


	3. Day 1: Seaside Activities

**Disclaimer: Everything you recognize belongs to JK Rowling**

**Author's Note: **heyy guys! Sorry I forgot the disclaimer and whatnot last time, this is my first fic, so I'm new to this whole thing- but I love this story and reviewing what I have for the layout, there will be around 15 chapters and maybe a sequel. Thanks to my one person who reviewed! It helped me want to write this next chapter even more- everyone please please read and review- I wanna know what everyone thinks! And sorry if im leaving some stuff kinda vague, I tend to write more than I have to, so I don't want things to be insanely long... Enjoy this chapter!

Chapter 3: Seaside Activities

The sun rose bright and early on their first day to the South Shore. It peeked and glared through their windows and danced across the horizon of the ocean. The air was warm and dry, and the waves crashed gently on the shore. Few clouds filled the sky, making this day the perfect one for the beach.

Inside, however, sounds could be heard of snoring, stirring, and all around sleeping. Because everyone who got in last night, got in late from the ride up, and were now trying to catch up on their sleep. By 10 o'clock, everyone was awake and headed down to catch breakfast, then outside to wait for the Knight Buses to transport them to the beach. Ron, eating everything in his power so he wouldn't be hungry the rest of the day, was miraculously done first, with the rest of the guys not far behind. The girls ate little, but just enough to get them started. Everyone waited outside for the buses chatting, then boarded them when they arrived there.

They rode the buses for 15 minutes to the South Shore Beach and Boardwalk, where the beach was pure and miles long and the Boardwalk contained only the best shops for souvenirs and beach wear. Once everyone was off the bus, they all broke up into their groups and explored the places they were allowed to visit. But because it was a partial muggle area, they couldn't use magic and signs were posted in wizarding shops to let them know that galleons, knuts, and sickles could be used there.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were in a group of course, along with Ginny, Seamus, Neville, Hannah, and Luna. They all enjoyed having a big group, following the motto 'the more the merrier' and also figured the boy to girl ratio was 4:4 so everyone had fair chances. The 8 made their way into a shop, and at Hermione's request, bought disposable muggle cameras, which they would later ask Colin to develop their film for them. Then they all crossed the street and onto the beach, where they dropped their belongings, wore only their bathing suits, and ran into the water, eventually letting the water take them over and falling into it (A/N: you know, like when you're running into the ocean and you keep running and eventually fall).

"Hey, I know something fun we all could do." Seamus announced to them all as he came to the surface after being bombarded with a wave.

"What's that Seamus?" Hermione asked, with a note of uncertainty in her voice, unsure that she even wanted to know.

"Chicken." Seamus said, with a sly grin on his face.

"I've played that before. It's where everyone's in groups of two and someone's on someone else's shoulders and the opposing people try to knock the other people off their shoulders, right?" Ginny asked, but matter-of-factly.

"Yep, that's the one." Seamus said, in Ginny's matter-of-fact tone.

"Alright, let's play. Now, since the odds of guys to girls here are 4:4, let's make it interesting. Every pairing has to be boy/girl. Ok?" Harry said, mischieviously.

"Okay!" Everyone shouted at the same time, clearly excited and grateful someone had said it.

"Ok, everyone, partner up!" Harry said, and then ran over to Ginny.

"Ginny, wanna be my partner?" he asked hopefully.

"Sure, you're strong, right?" she said, with a hint of mischief in her own voice.

"Sure?" Harry said, and the two laughed it off and Harry went underwater and came back up with Ginny on his shoulders.

Seamus and Hannah had paired, as did Neville and Luna. Both couples were ready to begin.

"Uh... Hermione? Since you don't have a- uh... partner thingy, do you um... maybe wanna be... ya know... my partner?" Ron asked Hermione nervously.

Hermione smiled, "I'd love to, Ron" she said. Ron beamed. He went underwater and Hermione hopped on his shoulders, they both came up, Ron carrying her on his strong, broad shoulders.

"Everyone set?" Seamus looked around to everyone and they all nodded. "Alright, then LET'S PLAY CHICKEN!" he shouted for them to hear.

Seamus turned to Neville and Luna and Hannah began trying to get Luna off of Neville's shoulders. They were neck and neck for awhile, until Luna sneak attacked and sent Hannah and Seamus tumbling backward into the water. Seamus, in an effort to regain them, took Hannah back on his shoulders and tried to seek revenge, Neville all the while, beaming proudly.

Meanwhile, Harry and Ginny had taken on Ron and Hermione. Ginny, being the feisty girl she was was taking the advantage and seemed to be getting the better of Hermione. Both guys kept yelling encouraging words up to their girls, and everyone was laughing and having a good time. Then Ginny gave Hermione a playful, but forceful push on her arms and Hermione began to lose her balance, and so did Ron. The two tumbled backwards and into the water, Hermione coming off of Ron's shoulders. The 2 surfaced, but since they were in a sand bar, the water was shallow enough and Ron came up on all fours, and Hermione was sprawled on his back.

The two looked at each other smiling and giggling, Ron turning a bright shade of red. Harry, raising a hand to his mouth, cleared his throat, and they looked at him, surprised and embarrassed. They immediately separated at least 5 feet from the other and turned even redder. Harry was enjoying this, and grinned slyly at them. Then he turned around, Ginny off his shoulders by this point, picked Ginny up with his big, strong arms, and held her over his head.

"Don't. you. dare." She protested. But one smile and a twinkle in Harry's eye gave her an answer.

"Oh I think I just might." He said, and threw her a few feet away into the water. She screamed and everyone laughed and when she surfaced, she looked angry, but in a flirty way. She walked over to Harry slowly in the water, and Harry just smiled at her innocently and sweetly.

Then she dove underwater, swam to Harry, and pushed his ankles with such force, that he fell over. Ginny laughed and Harry splashed her playfully.

"Gin! You know I didn't wanna get wet!" He said while still splashing her playfully and laughing.

"Revenge is sweet." She said, and splashed him playfully back.

Ron and Hermione, however, weren't willing to get any wetter and they wanted to avoid another incident, so they decided to go back up on the beach, where they would sit on a towel to dry off, and pretend like nothing happened.

Ron reached the place where they all dropped their dry clothes and towels first, and he picked up the one he brought from the hotel, and ran it through his hair first, trying to dry it off, but only succeeding in making it even messier. But though messy, Hermione noticed just how great his hair complimented his evenly tanned body and well-defined muscles. She caught herself staring for a minute or 2 when she reached the towels, but snapped herself back to reality when she realized just what she was doing. _Great Hermione, real great. He's your best friend. You don't think about him in that way. Remember he's the one with the emotional range of a teaspoon! _She kept telling herself. _But he does look devastatingly hot in his swim trunks. And I think he's changed. Forget it, he might never change. Not that I want him to it's just... eh I give up. But I don't like him as more than a friend!_

Ron saw her stare out of the corner of his eye, but didn't want to say anything. He could already feel himself getting redder, and he knew it wasn't because of sunburn. She wrapped the towel around her waist, and Ron could see as she tried to comb out the knots in her hair. He, too, caught himself looking at her (A/N: like she did to him; it's not like... anything dirty) and he watched as she dried herself off. He brought himself back to reality when she spoke.

"Ron? Are you okay?" she asked, curious and also concerned.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine, just fine." He said, now aware that there was a world around them.

He laid his double-sized maroon towel on the sand, smoothed it out, and collapsed onto the left side of it. He lay there, propped up by his elbows, and motioned for her to come sit next to him.

"'Mione? I saved ya a seat." He said, smiling and patting the place next to him, and she smiled, too and walked over to his towel and collapsed onto its right side. She, too, propped herself up by her elbows. They were both dazed at the ocean, and were watching everyone else still in the water. Ron scowled at Harry, who was playing 'tag' with Ginny and flirting in a very obvious way.

"If he lays a hand on my sister I'll knock him senseless!" He said through clenched teeth. His older brother instincts were kicking in again, and Hermione, knowing how he gets, just went with the flow but still tried to talk him out of knocking Harry senseless.

"Ronald, calm down. Ginny likes him. Harry likes her. Can't you just accept the fact that your best friend likes your little sister? I mean, they're not even going out yet!" Hermione said calmly, trying to convince him that what was happening amongst them was for the better.

Ron flinched at the word 'yet' but sighed, not wanting to add to the argument knowing he'd lose against Hermione, and just sat there, still scowling at them but softening his gaze a little as he thought that he would at least back off from them unless Harry tried to make a move on his little sister. Then Harry would be knocked senseless. Ron smiled at the thought of this, knowing he would never actually punch his best friend, but he was having some fun with his mind. It was fun to joke around in your head once in a while, right?

"I think it's sweet that you're so protective over Ginny. It shows her you care about her and you want her to be happy." Hermione said, seeing his expression soften.

"Yeah, whatever. I mean, I trust Harry and I know he'd never hurt her, intentionally. Plus Mum's always telling me I gotta start trusting Ginny's instincts, too. So what better time to start than now." He said plainly. He sighed, clearly not completely alright with this, but Hermione could tell he was trying to be. He smiled to himself as a new train of conversation entered his mind.

"So... 'Mione? You fancy anyone?" he said curiously, raising an eyebrow and winking at her. It was just like Ron to make jokes and tease her about her own personal life so that he could keep his mind off his sister's. She blushed a little.

"Maybe..." she said, winking at him but laughing at how serious he was acting.

"Ooh! You DO!" He said, turning his full attention towards her to try and read her face. "You're blushing!! So, who is it?!" He was getting really excited now, though in his mind, he knew it would never be him.

"I'm not telling you..." she said flirtatiously, now turned toward him, trying her best not to blink.

"C'mon! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me! Tell me!" He said, and she laughed at this. He never whined like this before and she was going to get as much out of this as she possibly could. "Pleasssssssse" he said and pleaded guiltily.

"Ronald Bilius Weasley. Don't plead PLEASE!" she said firmly.

He shrugged. "okay." He said simply and proceeded to ask her normally. She laughed at this, because Ron always made her laugh and she kept answering 'no' to every guy's name he threw her way. At long last she gave up.

"Fine, do you want to know? I mean, do you REALLY want to know?" She asked, exhausted.

"Yes please." He said, smiling so wide he couldn't contain it. When listing all the guys he knew, he hadn't mentioned himself, because he didn't want to hear her say 'no' to him, too. He didn't think he could take the heartbreak.

They inched closer to each other. Their faces were barely a couple inches from the other. Ron could feel the warmth of her breath inching closer to his face, and he could feel himself being pulled forward like a magnet. But it was beyond his control. He closed his eyes and he could see her do the same. _She's probably just got a glare from the sun. This doesn't mean anything. I just leaned in too close to hear her whisper his name into my ear. I don't want to know who she likes at this point, because I now know that it's never going to be me. _He said, and frowned slightly.

"It's-"She began, but was cut off when Ginny came bounding up the beach towards them. Ron and Hermione pulled away instantly, Ron growing red and embarrassed, Hermione hiding her disappointment.

"You guys HAVE to come back down to the water! It's great! The waves are becoming much bigger now and you can body surf!" She said excitedly, drying herself a little with her own towel, and Harry followed her up. He was dripping wet and when he got up to the towel where Ron and Hermione sat, and where Ginny was trying to get at least somewhat dry.

He grinned mischievously, and then shook himself off, spraying everyone within 10 feet of him with salt water. Hermione and Ginny screamed and glared at him playfully, and Ron bellowed something about finally being dry.

"Gin- we can't. McGonagall told us we have to be back at the buses in 20 minutes. We don't have the time." Hermione said, sounding sincere.

"Damn, you're right. Well, then I guess I'll stay here and dry off for 15 minutes before we have to go back to the buses." Ginny said, laying down her own towel on the sand and laying on her back to catch some sun. She closed her eyes to protect them and lay there still. Ron and Hermione, now separated from the other at least 1 foot, turned to the side opposite the other and got some color too. Harry just played in the and, taking a stick he wrote and outlining the words

**HP loves GW**

In the sand. He smiled at it when he was done, when erased it and wrote a similar expression. He didn't care much for getting color, because he knew he couldn't sit still for while with nothing to do. And he knew that Ron didn't like it either, and that Ron was doing it just to be close to Hermione. Harry cast his gaze over at them. Ron was laying on his back, and his blue and white swim trunks clinging to his legs from the water Harry had hit him with. Hermione was laying on her back, her head turned away from Ron and he could see that her yellow one-piece suit was drying.

Once 10 minutes passed, Harry announced to everyone that it was time to go back to the buses, and they all got up, packed their things away, and headed across the street to the buses, to the seats they had picked. They all collapsed into their seats, exhausted, and everyone began talking about what was to come later that night, in the night that could possibly make, or break, the future of them all. Things were subject to change that night, and they all felt it within themselves. They just didn't know if things were going to get better, or if they were going to be weird. Everyone hoped or the first, but they knew one thing for sure: they were going to have a wicked fun time.

**A/N: that's chapter 3. omg the next chapter is going to be sooo much fun to write! I'm looking forward to it! I'm gonna write it based on my own experiences from a trip which is centered around a lot of this. Please read'n'review! **


	4. Dancing the Night Away

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

**A/N: this chapter might be a little long but it's gonna be a fun one! So enjoy this one and please _please_ read and review! (Thanks again to my 3 cough hint cough reviewers- thanks guys!) I'd also like to dedicate this chapter to those who were with me on a very similar trip- thanks for making it fun! And sorry it took so long to get it up- I've been busy... then I went on a vacation and school starts tomorrowâ ughher**

Chapter 4: Dancing the Night Away

The sun was setting outside, below the horizon and leaving an orange and pink glow to the surface of the water. The temperature outside had dropped to a comfortable environment, and a light breeze ruffled the leaves of the trees on the hotel grounds. The moon was rising higher, and as clouds from the day shifted, stars shone all around, bathing everything in moonlight and starlight. It was magical, an evening only the wizarding world would allow, and no one knew just how much magic was going to fly tonight.

Inside hotel room #230, the four roommates were anxiously preparing for the night to come. Everyone was showered, the only things that stood in their way of being completely done were hair, makeup, getting dressed, accessories, and most important of allâ shoes. They busily scrambles in and out of the sink area of the bathroom, each trying to have a space of the mirror to work with, but in the long run, Hannah had brought out her own personal mirror and was working off that, leaving a disgruntled Ginny, Hermione, and Luna to make the best use of the 20 minutes they had with the small mirror.

Ginny stepped away to straighten her hair, giving Hermione the room she needed to set her curls in place, while Luna pulled the front strands of her hair back and sealed it with a hair clasp, and Hannah was just sporting a bun. Luna and Hannah were on to make-up and seemed very focused on getting it just right. Hermione and Ginny had done their make-up in the chaos of it all and were now finding the perfect accessories to match their outfits.

Hermione was dressed in an Aqua halter top, and was wearing a knee length aqua and white striped skirt that was cut diagonally in the front. It was all comfortable, and she picked out a Lorimar necklace and a silver bracelet and a new blue and silver anklet she had bought earlier that day. She eventually settled on a pair of white open-toed heels, which looked like they had a knot where they tied in the front. She was ready, and butterflies were in her stomach as she couldn't see anything coming, but was excited to imagine what could.

"Do these shoes match this outfit?" Hermione asked, frantic to make sure she looked perfect for Ron, not that she felt for him in _that_ way, but you know, she wanted to look her utmost best.

"Herm, relax, you look fine. You're going to bewitch my brother tonight, just you wait and see" Ginny added with a smile and a wink.

Hermione rolled her eyes and repeated the same thing she tells herself "Gin, I told you, I'm afraid I don't feel for him that way. I'm sorry." She told her sympathetically.

"You keep telling yourself that, Hermione," Ginny added again, with another wink, "You look beyond great, too, so please calm down, for all our sakes."

Luna played it simple with a strapless yellow sundress, which had scattered tropical flowers here and there, had put a tropical yellow flower clip behind her right ear, and wore matching platform yellow flip flops to give her some height, and style. She chose a hemp paradise necklace with matching bracelet, and dazzled her hair, face, and neck with glitter.

"Is the glitter too much?" she asked to no one in particular.

"No, you look great, Luna, really. You're going to dazzle some guys tonight." Ginny said encouragingly.

"Thanks Gin" Luna smiled and continued to glitter herself crazy.

Ginny was wearing a short denim miniskirt, which went down about 10 inches above her knees. She wore a pink spaghetti strap tank top, with black strap high heels that gave her about 3 more inches to her height. In her mind, she knew if she was taller, she would be noticeable to a certain Gryffindor seeker. She chose a silver, open-heart necklace, a charm bracelet, and a silver toe ring. She glittered her eyes, and nothing else.

"This matches, right? I mean, should I be wearing neutral colors, like to bring out the colors in my eyes? Or should I wear green, to bring out the color in his-"She stopped once she got that far, once she realized she had let it slip. The other three girls turned to her, wide-eyed and surprised.

"Ginny, I thought you stopped liking him 2 years ago!" Hermione said with a smile.

"I thought I did! Really I did! But he's been all flirty lately, I can't help it! What's a girl to do?" She pleaded. But she was surprised at their reactions. All three girls came over to her and collapsed her in a big hug.

"Ginny, I can say on behalf of all of us that we wish you the best of luck with Harry. He's a great guy, and he's crazy about you" Hannah told her, with a twinkle in her eye. Ginny just smiled and took it all in.

Hannah was wearing a light green peasant top, which flowed down to her waist, and a short black skirt. She sore green flip flops that looked like ribbon (A/N: dan- u know the shoes I have) and she wore no jewelry, for she told the others that all jewelry did was mesmerize a guy because of the shine. The others laughed at this, and at the same time, all four girls sprayed perfume, and walked through it, did a final mirror check, took a picture and had one last hug, and left the door, matching purses and all.

The guys were another story. They just showered, shaved, gelled their hair, and got dressed. They didn't pay attention to the little things, because as guys, they wanted to look good and have fun. But they didn't feel it was necessary to go all out on these things.

Ron got dressed in a pair of fine khaki shorts, and a blue plaid button down short-sleeved shirt, which brought out the colors in his eyes. He just finished with a pair of nice sandals, which coincidently, all the guys had brought.

"Does this go?" Ron asked, boredly.

"Sure" Neville said boredly, too, only half focusing.

Harry wore a simple red button down short-sleeved shirt, with jean shorts and suede sandals. His messy hair was same as always, and didn't even bother with the gel. He knew there was no point to taming it.

Seamus wore a blue and red knit polo shirt and khaki pants. He said he could survive any weather, though the rest disagreed, and knew by the end of the night he would be complaining.

"Gel?" Seamus asked Harry, turning to face him.

"Yeah" Harry said simply, and went to go back to trying to comb his messy hair.

Neville decided on a nice black t-shirt, and jeans. He didn't do anything too extravagant, so he kept it simple. All guys sported manly cologne, and then left the room, each carrying a room key.

They all boarded their busses sophistically, and rode there, everyone talking excitedly. When they got there, they de-boarded, sat to hear the "rules of how proper young Wizards and Witches should act" and after many nods and "yeah"'s, were allowed to board the boat, which was old style, and roughly about the size of the Great Hall. The first group was sent to eat, while their group consisting of the 8 of them, headed to the top deck for dancing.

Lights loomed the boat, and there was a nook in front of the boat where the 8 set themselves in, and for awhile just listened to music, laughed, and had a good time all around. The girls longily looked at the dance floor, not wanting to dance by themselves, and also because no one else had taken the floor yet. It seemed the right people needed to get out there first, and none of the eight wanted to be those people. So instead, they made light conversation and suggested songs to the DJ, which they all sang to. Neville and Seamus had come up with their own "dance" flailing their arms up around their head back and forth, but weren't being completely serious, which gave the other six, permission to mock them for years to come.

Then Dumbledore counts off their group to go down to the lower deck to eat dinner. So they all shuffle down there, the girls taking longer on the stairs for fear of falling, and the guys rushing them along. Ron, especially, worked to help speed the process, and was trying to find ways to get down there faster.

"Hermione! Can you move any faster?" He yelled from the top of the stairs.

"Ron! Unless you want me to trip and fall, you'll just have to wait!" She yelled back.

Ron snickered slightly, but took it back when she shot a glance his way. He apologized and waited like a gentleman for the girls to get down the stairs safely. They all got a little corner table which just barely sat them all. The guys got up and helped themselves to the fried chicken and french fries at the buffet, while the girls stuck with their green salads and light dressing. They all ordered water.

"I wanna at least do _some_ dancing" Ginny said, catching a quick glance toward Harry, who, she caught, was staring at her the whole time.

"I know what you mean I-"Luna began, then immediately stopped when she heard a song playing on the upper deck. "Omigod! Is that the Cha Cha Slide? That's, like, my dance!" Luna said excitedly, then dashed for the stairs, with the rest of the girls following her.

"What in the bloody hell is the Cha Cha Slide?" Ron asked questioningly.

"No idea, mate. Let's go check it out." Harry said, and motioned for Neville Seamus, and Ron to follow him upstairs. None of them knew what the girls were talking about, but they all knew they wanted to find out. So they left their food (Ron unwillingly) and headed to the upper deck, where they heard some funky music and a bunch of people on the dance floor, following what the guy was saying.

_To the Left_

_Take it back now y'all_

_One hop this time_

_Right foot less stuff, left foot less stuff_

_Cha cha real smooth_

And that's what they were all doing. The guys watched in amazement as the girls laughed and had fun, messing up every now and then, but just giving themselves reason to laugh harder. The guys caught themselves staring, and didn't pull themselves back to earth until the song ended, and the girls came bounding towards them, big smiles on their faces.

"So _that's_ what a Cha Cha Slide is." Ron thought to himself.

The girls went over to the little boat nook where they had dropped their shoes and their purses, but not without winking at the guy of their desire. The guys just stared in amazement, and then went to the punch bar to get something to drink. They all leaned on the bar in a way that made them feel proud and confident, ordered pumpkin juice and each of them sipped with drinks, not taking their eyes off the woman of their affection.

The girls still had their eyes on the guys, but were trying not to be too obvious, so they looked away and laughed with the girl nearest them to try and hide that they were looking.

"Is he looking this way? Is he looking this way?!" Ginny asked, turning her head away so it didn't appear that she was interested to know. It was her way of playing hard to get. Hannah's suggestion. "Don't look, though!" she added quickly.

But as if it had come as an instinct, all three girls turned their heads to where Harry was, and then turned their heads back quickly.

"Definitely!" They said in unison to one another, smiling widely. Ginny blushed a bright shade of scarlet, and went back to sipping her drink, pretending not to care, though inside, she was glowing.

"Dude! (A/N: I doubt he'd say this, but I just wanted to emphasize; teenage guys, yeahâ) Hermione was so looking my way!" Ron said excitedly, and continued to stare at her, not even trying to hide himself.

"Yea, mate, I saw! Good for you!" Harry said, eyes still on Ginny.

Then the "The Train" song came on, and the girls jumped up from their seats, running to the dance floor and dancing happily. The guys looked to one another, nodded, and as if they were thinking the same thing, moved in the dance floor, acting all smooth, and danced over to the girl they desired.

Hannah smiled as she saw Seamus move her way, and together they danced side by side, Hannah smiling flirtatiously as she saw Seamus mess up quite a few times. _He is so cute._ She thought to herself. _She is so fine. _Seamus thought to himself, and they danced.

Luna glowed up inside as she saw Neville making his way towards her shyly, and she danced by him, enjoying his attempts to the dance, and he winked at her. _Why have I never known this about him? He's got something about him, he looks beyond gorgeous tonight! _She thought to herself, and smiled. _Just keep dancing, Neville. Just keep dancing, don't stop or you'll look like a fool. You don't want to look like a fool! _He told himself, and smiled.

Ginny winked flirtatiously as Harry strode over to dance beside her, surprising her with how well he knew the dance. Ginny giggled as Harry made a slight mistake, and Harry just blushed a very slight shade of red and continued. _He's my guy. He's not perfect, but he sure is close to it._ She thought, and danced away. _I wonder if she knows how much she mesmerizes me like this. _He thought, and danced closer to her.

Ron shyly made his way over to the lonesome Hermione, and just sort of, stood there, towering over her with great advantages to his height. He smiled sweetly and saw her smile back at him, before he took an empty space next to her and began to guess his way at how the dance went, making mistakes here and there, but grabbing the hang of it after a bit. _How am I supposed to learn this dance when the only thing on my mind is my Hermione? I can't believe I'm dancing next to her. I'm incredibly lucky. _He thought to himself, keeping it inside. _Why can't I take my eyes off of him? He looks incredible tonight. He really should wear more blue, it emphasizes his eyes. I don't mean it in THAT way, I just can't help but notice how manly he looks. _She thought, not daring to say it aloud.

By the time the song had ended, all four guys had gotten the hang of how it went, and were disappointed that they had to stop dancing with the girl of their choice. But did they dare to make that obvious? No. They guys winked and smiled at 'their' girls, then went to a couple chairs across the dance floor, the girls making their way to the opposite side of where the guys were and taking chairs exactly opposite them. They all gave the guy across from them, who, coincidently, happened to be their dance partner, a little wave and smiled across the dance floor. Ron locked eyes with Hermione, and she didn't look away, fearing that if she did she would be brought back to reality. Ginny smiled at Harry and Harry smiled back. As did Neville with Luna, and Seamus with Hannah.

"Lady Marmalade" was heard over the speakers and instantly the girls jumped off, slid their shoes under their chairs, and took the floor, the guys, not sure how to dance this one, stood out, and instead just marveled at how they moved.

"How do they move like that?" Neville asked, staring at Luna, who was twirling around the dance floor and moving from side to side.

"I don't know but I'm glad they do." Seamus asked, dazed.

"It's enough to make any guy want to get out there and really show um how to dance." Harry said, and smiled mischievously to himself.

"Mate! That's my sister you're staring at! You're not doing any of that kind of dancing that would turn MY little sister into some scarlet woman!" Ron bellowed in hushed tones, while Harry merely laughed it off. "Harry! It's not funny! I'm being serious! No who you're dealing with here!" he said, narrowing his eyes.

"Ron, I know who I'm dealing with, believe me. And you know who you're dealing with," he points to himself. "You know I'd never do anything likeâ thatâ yet. We're not going out and we're just having a little innocent fun. So, mate, don't judge me yet and don't go all big brother until I've done something bad."

"Like" Ron said through clenched teeth.

"I'm just talking hypothetically." Harry said defensively yet not as serious as Ron was. Ron rolled his eyes and just watched Hermione, letting all anger towards Harry disappear at the moment he turned his gaze. He snapped back when the song ended and saw that all four girls were motioning for the guys to rejoin them on the dance floor. They all got up, a little excitedly, and then stopped in their tracks as the next song came on. "Dirty" by Christine Aguilera.

"This should be good." Ginny said, smiling and she and Hermione turned to each other, knowing that this was going to be interesting.

"There's no way I'm letting you dance this one" Ron said to Harry, pulling him back.

"I am if you are." Harry said, smiling widely, and knowing Ron, he saw Ron give up and surrender. He knew there was no way Ron was going to pass this up. So all four guys walked over to their girls smoothly, and moved in. Neville shyly began dancing, a little nervous.

"I've never danced like this," He admitted to Luna. But of course she could see this, so she decided to have some fun.

"Then allow me to teach you." She smiled flirtatiously and put her hands on his hips, allowing him to loosen up a bit.

Seamus, already naming himself the 'stud' of Gryffindor, kept up his reputation dancing with Hannah by knowing all the moves to push a girl around the dance floor. Hannah was impressed and rather intrigued.

Harry was dancing with Ginny innocently, for the most part. But that was only when he saw Ron glance towards them to make sure they weren't doing anything illegal. However, when Ron was occupied dancing with Hermione and didn't look at them, it was nothing but innocent as they danced to the song, living it up to its name. Harry, knowing that if Ron knew what he was up to, would absolutely kill him, but he figured it all worth it in the end.

Ron, having learned quite a few dance moves from his older brothers, was dancing quite rhythmically to the music, moving the way that Fred had told him "Weasley men were supposed to move". He smiled as he remembered the long talk Fred and George had had with him the night of his 16th birthday, and proceeded to dance himself closer to Hermione. She smiled as she saw what he was doing, and rather enjoyed how close they were dancing.

The song then turned down and was followed by a few of the eight's favorites. "Yeah" by Usher, "Hey Ya" By Outkast, "Heaven" by DJ Sammy, some System of a Down songs, and by the time they got to "The Way you Move" by Outkast, they were all tired, a little sweaty, but mostly overjoyed that they had lasted that long. The girls were beyond glad they had their shoes off and the guys couldn't care if their feet hurt, because they were not about to leave the dance floor. Before long, Ron stopped glancing to check in on Ginny and Harry, and became too fascinated with dancing with Hermione, much to the relief of the couple.

"I'm gonna go get us some drinks" Ron said in her ear, just loud enough for her to hear him.

"Ok" She said, and they left the dance floor, all of them collapsing in their respectable chairs from earlier. Ron made his way over to the nonalcoholic 'bar' and ordered some pumpkin juice, only two, for himself and Hermione, then wound through the crowd back to her, where he gave her a drink, then went to the guys, who had followed his lead and gotten the other girls drinks too. They all knew that generosity and care were a good way to a girl's heart.

They all sipped their drinks quietly, deep in thought about the songs that they had all just danced, while over the speakers they heard the familiar sounds of the "YMCA". They were too tired to dance this one out, and they needed a rest. They were all a little disappointed that this was the song they chose to sit out, but they couldn't dance all night long. Or could they?

Once the song ended and everyone was energized and hydrated, they went back to the dance floor, dancing with their partners again, and everyone stopped and screamed while laughing as Sisqo's "The Thong Song" was put on. The guys shook their heads but the girls only made them dance, mouthing all the words to the song to try and get them to dance.

After about 10 seconds (these guys were easily manipulated), they were defeated and danced, in the same not-so-innocent way they were before. Ron looked at Hermione in disbelief, wondering how the hell she had learned all the word to "The Thong Song". Was there a side to her he had never seen before?

That song turned into Sir-Mix-A-Lot's "Baby Got Back" where all the girls shrieked and all the guys rolled their eyes and danced with the girls, partly for their own sake. Hermione shocked everyone this time as she sang every single word. Hannah high-fived her, not knowing Hermione had ever even heard this type of music before. Ron was beginning to like all these surprises she had, knowing each would possibly be better than the next.

"I've never seen this side of you before," Ron said, winking at her and smiling, dancing closer to her so that the couple was only a few inches apart.

"There's a lot of things you've never seen me do," She said with a wink and Ron just stared at her, taken aback, wondering what else she was capable of, "I bet you've never seen me do this." And she inched herself closer to him, placed both of her hands on his waist, and loosened his hips, making them both go down and dance closer still, making the distance between them mere centimeters. Hermione could feel the warmth of Ron's body close to hers, and she felt her heart begin to race. Ron got a glint in his eye.

"You're right, 'Mione, I've never seen you dance like that before. So, tell me, will I ever see you do that again?" he said, hiding his hope with a playfully smug expression.

"Maybe... it depends; do you want me to dance that way with you again?"

"Maybeâdo you want me to want you to dance with me?"

"You tell me."

Ron's brow furrowed. He seemed to be lost in their conversation, while maintaining his cool on the dance floor, nonetheless. So instead of answering her, he pulled her closer, completely overtaken by the rhythm of the music, so their bodies were only less than a millimeter apart. He grabbed her, one hand behind her back, the other holding her hand, and he dipped her down low. His head followed hers, and right when their faces were inching closer, the song ended, and was followed by a loud Linkin Park song. They separated at once, Hermione going to dance instead with Ginny and the girls, and Ron going to get something to eat. Ron bumped into Harry, completely unaware that there was anyone else there.

"Sorry" he mumbled, and made his way around Harry.

_What's got to him_? Harry thought to himself and shrugged his shoulders. He would ask him about it later, but right now he was exhausted from all the dancing he had done with Ginny. He had noticed Ron and Hermione dancing closer than even he and Ginny had, and was happy for them, but knew the couple hadn't even thought it through, and to them, it meant nothing.

_What just happened? Damn 'Breaking the Habit'! Why, WHY did it have to come on right as Ron and I were finally dancing so close that I could feel the warmth of his sweating body through his shirt? He looks good tonight, and that shirt really defines his muscles. Stop, Hermione, you pervert! He's your best friend, neither of you think that way about the other. It's hopeless! You're just setting yourself up for a big disappointment when you know he doesn't like you! And it's not like you like him in that way either! You both were just caught up in the moment! I blame it on the music! _Hermione thought, and constantly kept trying to reassure herself, though she seemed to fight a losing battle.

_I don't even want to think about what just happened. The music moved me to do things I don't even want to think about. But she moved with me! This is the second time we almost, we almost, umâ kissed. And I'm almost certain that's the farthest it's probably going to go. I won't get my hopes up for something that's never going to happen. _Ron thought, and sulked over to the dessert table, and ignored it. _I'm not even hungry. _Then he went back up to the dance floor, and joined Harry and the guys sitting at the side.

"What's gotten into you, Ron?" Harry asked him, concerned he hadn't eaten.

"Nothing, nothing. I just have a lot of 'Mione- I mean, a lot on my mind." He mumbled.

"Ron, tell her."

"Are you mad?!" he said, looking Harry in the eyes.

"No, but it seems you are. You think about her night and day. You're giving up food, and let's face it Ron. I know you wanted to go farther than to just dance with her before. It's eating you alive, Mate."

"Sod off Harry" he mumbled again, taken aback that Harry was right.

Harry got up from his seat. "Okay. But I'll warn you. If you don't get to her soon enough, someone else might." And he threw Ron a knowing glance, then proceeded to the dance floor, which was now playing "Headstrong" by Trapt. He was dancing by himself for awhile, until Ginny approached him and they danced together. Ron just was lost in thought.

_All my Life_

_I've prayed for someone like you..._

_And I thank God that I_

_That I finally found you._

All the girls let out a big "Aww!" as they heard the familiar romantic sounds of KC and JoJo on the speakers. Immediately everyone split up in pairs and began slow dancing. Ron looked anxiously around for Hermione as he saw Harry grab his little sister by the waist and start dancing with her, his eyes closed and her head resting against his chest. She looked thoroughly pleased, and relaxed, as if there were no other place she would rather be.

Ron was still looking for Hermione, until he felt a tap on his left shoulder. He smiled huge, turned around, and saw

"_L-Luna_?" He said, disappointed.

"Hello Ronald," She said simply. He just gaped at her. "Would you like to dance?"

"Err- What about Neville?"

"I can't find him. He went to the bathroom a few minutes ago and I lost him in the crowd after he came back. I don't want to go to the middle of the dance floor alone. I figured I'd dance there. Wanna help me? You might be able to find Hermione." She added with a wink.

"H-H-Hermione? Why would I want to find her?" he said, taken aback. She just stared at him with an I-know-you-like-her kind of stare. He gave up. "Yeah, I'll dance with you." And he put his hands on her waist, uncomfortably, and she put her hands on his shoulders, not at all relaxed, but rather uneasy, as if, if she were caught doing this, she would be in big trouble.

They danced their way into the middle of the dance floor, sort of in circles, as they both wanted to find the person they were after. Then Ron spotted a familiar Aqua halter top some 5 feet away. He danced Luna and himself over to the couple dancing, the guy seeming to have trouble with the concept of dancing. He nodded to Luna and they separated. He walked over to the girl and put his hands around her waist, so that he was standing behind her.

"Hey 'Mione," he said with a sly grin. Then he turned his head towards Neville, "Mind if I cut in?" Neville shook his head.

"I don't mind. I was actually just looking for- LUNA!" and he ran over to her, and began dancing with her excitedly.

"Hello Ronald." She said, copying Luna. He smiled at her.

"Would you like to dance?" He asked hopefully.

"I'd love to." She smiled. He smiled. He put his hands around her waist comfortably, pulling her closer to him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He was a lot taller, so this was quite a feat. She closed her eyes and rested her head against his chest, smiling huge to herself. She looked up into his eyes quite a few times. She smiled up at him and He smiled down at her, returning her loving gaze, feeling the happiest he's ever felt in his life.

_All my Life_

_I pray for someone like you_

_And I thank God that I_

_That I finally found you_

They danced slowly and romantically until the song ended with its final ending notes. Both had separated against their own will, but didn't want to arouse suspicions to anyone, so they hugged each other.

"Where did you learn to dance like that?" he asked her.

"Me? What about you? You'reâ You're..." She started.

"Aww, I'm not that goodâ "He smiled modestly at her.

"Yeah you are. You have no idea."

"I think I might know." He winked at her. She just smiled at him and he smiled back. Their little moment was interrupted, however, when an oh-too-familiar song blasted the area. They recognized it at once and began laughing and smiling. Everyone cheered.

_I'm too sexy for my love_

_Too sexy for my love, _

_Love's going to leave._

_And I'm too sexy for my shirt_

_Too Sexy for my shirt, too sexy yeah.._

Ron winked at her once more, and then joined the other guys by pulling his shirt off over his head, exposing his bare chest, and swinging the shirt around his head, mouthing the words to the song. Harry laughed at him and swung his own shirt around over his head and then throwing it to Ginny and throwing her a flirtatious wink. Neville couldn't get his shirt off, and 25 other guys had already succeeded and were now forming a train leading down the stairs. It was led by the famous Fred Weasley, followed by George and Seamus.

"Take it off!" Hermione and Ginny yelled together, laughing so hard that their eyes were beginning to water.

"Yeah Harry!" Ginny called out to him and gave him a rather loud cat call. Hermione laughed even harder, almost doubled over with laughter as the 35 shirtless guys, Ron, Harry, and finally Neville included, danced their way down the steps and off the now docked boat. They cheered and punched their fists in the air.

"Any student who does not have his shirt on in 3 minutes will serve a week's detention with me." McGonnagal shouted to the crowd. They did as they were told, and had their shirts on in a matter of minutes. The girls seemed very disappointed, but enjoyed the little show nonetheless. Ginny knew she would probably never see Harry do that again, which is why she took the liberty of taking many pictures of all the guys. She nudged Hermione and showed her a rather humiliatiing picture of Harry waving his shirt in her face. Hermione laughed.

And around midnight, they all de-boarded the boat, everyone still in fits of laughter and knowing that a night like this would only come once in a lifetime. They were all just bummed that it ended so soon. But they still had 6 days left in their trip, surely more laughs would come. There is, after all, a Midnight Luau tomorrow night, on the beach.

**A/N: and this chapter is FINALLY done! Sooo sorry it took like, 3 weeks, to get done. There's been so much going on in my life right now. Chapter 5 up soon, I hopeâ Look for it by next weekend... but I might surprise even myself and have it up sooner so please check in! Review please!! Once I hit 5-10 reviews I'll post the next chapter, so please review! Reviews make me want to write more!**


	5. Day 2: Morning Walks

**Disclaimer: nothing belongs to me... this is just my version of a story with JK Rowling's characters... **

**Author's Note: thanks to everyone who reviewed! It made me sooooo unbelievably happy checkin my mail and finding reviews! Here's some notes to my reviewers:**

**_Tria Marie Val:_ It'll happen soon enough, don't u worry, I got it all planned out... and the too sexy thing actually happened with a bunch of my guy friends... omg ill never forget that night**

**_Alicia B:_ I'm sooo glad u love it! I got better things planned ahead!**

**_Miss Court-A-Doo:_ thank you! I had sooo much fun writing it... **

**_Heaven 'n' Angel:_ my first reviewer... Ron's gonna become a lot more loveable soon... I can't wait to write that!**

**_DancinDuck: _I sorta had to have something happen so that there could be suspense! There might be one more interruption before it finally happens...**

**Thanks again guys! And be sure to check in often in case I'm on like a writing spree or something.... Oh yea and something keeps happening on my comp whenever I try to do "..." after something... So when you see that weird A and E thing... That's what happened... sorry bout that**

Chapter 5: Day 2- Morning Walks

It was a late morning. The sun had long risen hours before, and was now set high in the sky, showering everything and everyone below it with only sunlight, because no clouds could save them now. There was a slight breeze that only the early afternoon could bring, and on the beach, things were surprisingly still. Just the light swaying of the wind through the fine palm branches could be heard, and the rustle of sand leaving the ground, carried through the crisp, warm air could be heard for miles. The mewing of seagulls circled overhead, but seeing as no one was yet awake from last night's events, it was almost impossible to hear.

Unless you were Hermione, that is. She had finally woken at about 1 o'clock pm, and tried to tame her unruly mess of brown curls into something somewhat presentable. She looked behind her at the 2 beds. One was she had lain, and now where Ginny slept soundly, a smile playing her lips that made Hermione certain who was present in her dreams. Luna was stirring slightly, but stay asleep, and on the other side of their bed, Hannah snored lightly. Hermione smiled at this, and at the same time wondered what this day would bring.

She went outside on the balcony, the wind sweeping through her hair, blowing it around and encircling her face. She closed her eyes and turned herself to face the ocean, becoming lost in herself, trying to close her mind, but an image of Ron dancing with her, flirting shamelessly with her, was toying at her mind, and no matter how hard she tried to shake it off and remind herself that it meant nothing, the more she found herself denying what she kept trying to tell herself. What if it had meant more? What did this mean? Whatever it was, she knew one thing, and she wasn't going to find the answers in her hotel room. She needed open air, a brisk walk along the beach, maybe, to clear her head.

Ron stirred some 2 floors above her. He woke up, smiling, recalling the events of last night, of dancing with his Hermione, and thought for a split second that it was a dream. He yawned; disappointed that he might be right, until he glanced toward the nightstand at his left and saw a Polaroid picture Colin had taken last night and given it to him. The picture showed a couple, both in blue, dancing happily to a song that suited them perfectly: a slow, love song. The girl in the picture was several inches shorter than the red-headed guy, and she had her head against his chest, smiling to herself. The guy in the picture was over 6 feet tall, had flaming red hair, and his eyes were glancing down at the girl he was dancing with. He looked happier than anyone had ever seen him.

Ron smiled to himself. He knew those two people. He knew them very well. _Good, it wasn't a dream. It was real, all real._ He took the picture off the nightstand and put it to his heart, thinking that maybe the moving picture-Hermione could feel his heartbeat. After realizing this wouldn't work, he looked over at the clock. It was 1:30 PM. Wow, he had slept in. Really slept in. He looked to his right, where Harry was sleeping soundly, facing the wall, his expression unidentified, seeing as Ron couldn't see his face.

He then looked to his far left. Neville was sprawled out on the bed, and Seamus seemed to be cocooned in the blankets. Ron snickered and got out of bed. What had really happened last night? He remembered the dancing, he remembered the casual flirting he had done. He remembered the almost-kiss. He gasped. Did she know? Was she scared? What if she never wanted to see him again? What if their friendship was ruined? Trying to calm himself down, but not succeeding, Ron decided he needed a walk. Leaving a note for his roommates, he changed into some athletic shorts and a cut off tank top, and set off out of the room, heading for the beach.

Hermione walked aimlessly, barefoot along the beach, deep in thought. She stopped every now and then to pick up a stray rock by her feet at water's edge, and tossed it into the water. She sighed several times, unaware of why she was really feeling this way. Maybe it had something to do with last night. She thought back to last night, after the dance; when she and the girls had a bit of innocent fun, back at the hotel.

**Flashback**

It was late at night, well beyond Midnight, when she and the girls had entered their hotel room, very energized, and very excited. They all kicked their shoes off, changed into their pajamas, and joined the other in the living room area. They were all giddy, and no one felt much like sleeping.

"Ok, time for truth or dare." Ginny said, smiling mischievously. "Hermione, you first. Truth or dare?"

"Ill stick to "truth" right now, Gin" She said, not wanting to be daring just yet.

"Okay. I got a good one." She looked to Hannah and Luna, who nodded. Hermione was quite confused. "Tell the complete and honest truth."

"Okay..." Hermione sounded uncertain now.

"Do you,"She paused for dramatic effect, "like my brother?"

"Depends, which one?"

"Hermione Jane, you know very well which brother I'm talking about!" she laughed. Hermione smiled.

"I'm just playin, Gin. Of course I like Ron; I mean we've-"She was cut off.

"-as MORE than a friend?" Ginny looked at Hermione with burning curiosity now, and Hannah and Luna moved closer so they could hear her answer better.

"Uh- Well- The thing is... okay, here's the thing." She seemed lost for words.

"Spit it out, Granger!" Hannah said, and they all laughed.

Finally, she gave up. She smiled to herself, blushing a shade of crimson that could make any Weasley proud. "Yeah, I do. I really do."

Ginny squealed with excitement and engulfed her in a huge hug, Hannah and Luna joining in. "I KNEW you liked him! I KNEW it! KNEW it! KNEW it!" Ginny said, not trying to hide the excitement in her voice.

"Hermione, this is great!" Hannah cheered and laughed giddily.

"Congratulations! You go girl!" Luna laughed and fell off the couch. They all laughed and Hermione beamed.

"So, tell us Hermione. How long have you known?" Ginny asked, almost smiling as wide as when she was with Harry.

"Well, I guess I've always known. I mean, I denied it for a while, knowing nothing could ever happen, and I guess since third year was when I really knew it. I'm crazy about him. He makes me feel happier than I've ever been. All these years we've fought, I guess was because I didn't know how to handle my emotions for him. Last night, dancing with him, being close to him, was probably the happiest night of my life." If it was possible, she was blushing even redder with every word she spoke.

The other girls noted how much she glowed whenever she spoke about him. They let out loud, "Aww"s, and hugged for a few minutes. When they broke away, Luna wasn't afraid to speak up.

"You do know he really likes you too, right?" Luna asked in a dreamy voice, now back upright from her fall.

"He does not. Believe me, Luna. I'm the last thing on his mind." She said, not believing her.

"Or so he might have you believe." Hannah said, smiling.

"There's only one way to find out." Ginny went over to the table, picked up the cordless phone off its receiver, and handed it to Hermione. "Call him."

The other girls nodded and smiled giddily. Ginny winked at her. "If you do this, I promise you can interrogate us about anything, as many questions as you want. But you'll soon see that we're right."

Hermione shot her an "I-know-you're-wrong-but-I'll-humor-you" look and took the phone from her, rolling her eyes. Ginny didn't catch that, but only stared at the phone as Hermione began to dial the number for the guy's room. After she pressed the "1", she hung up, worry spreading over her face.

"Gin, I can't do it." She looked truly nervous.

"Hermione, yes you can. I can promise you he likes you. We never said you had to tell him you liked him. You can call him, Hermione. It's just Ron. You're a Gryffindor, be brave." Ginny smiled. "Come on, we're supposed to have fun! We're on vacation!"

Hermione laughed. "You're absolutely right. I can talk to him. Nothing out of the blue, right?" The other girls nodded, and Hermione, receiving a sudden jerk of confidence, picked up the phone, dialed the full number, and held the phone up to her ear. Hannah, Luna, and Ginny leaned towards her ear to listen.

The phone rang once. Twice. Three times. Then...

"Hello?" said a deep voice, familiar and somewhat muffled.

"Hi Harry, is Ron there?" She asked, with dignity.

"Yeah, one second." He covered the phone with his hand and yelled "Oy! Ron! Phone!" He handed the phone over to Ron, winking at him, but Ron slapped him lightly on the shoulder, and Harry stepped away from him, but still within listening distance of the phone.

"Hello?" Ron asked, unsure of whom it was.

"Hello you." She said, smiling into the phone.

"Hey 'Mione" he said, smiling into the phone, as well, shooing Harry and the rest of his roommates away from the phone. They sat on the couch and started playing video games, as Harry had showed them after one successful summer of hi-jacking Dudley's Nintendo Gamecube. They were being somewhat violent, as they kept trying to crash the NASCAR cars, instead of actually racing them.

"Shh! I'm on the phone!" Ron yelled over to them, as they were making quite a bit of noise in their festivities. Then he turned back to the phone, and the person at the other end. "Sorry, 'Mione. The other guys really love those video games."

She giggled. "Oh Dear God, What've I done?" she said, and Ron laughed. She loved when he laughed. It sent chills up and down her spine whenever he gave her that lob-sided grin of his that made his name famous at Hogwarts and that made Hermione weak at the knees whenever she saw his smile, as she imagined he was doing right now. Combine that smile with a laugh that should be cherished forever, and you have one of the reasons why Hermione liked him, maybe even loved him, a lot. But how could she not?

"So, 'Mione, why'd you call?" he raised an eyebrow, even though she couldn't see. He was curious, but still completely clueless. Hermione snapped out of her reverie and focused her attention back to the fact that she was talking to Ron on the phone.

"What? I can't just call and say 'hi' to my best friend ever?" she said, playfully, though, in her heart, she wasn't kidding.

"No, I guess you can. But I know you 'Mione. What's _really_ goin' on? " he sat down in a seat beside Harry, collapsing on the couch, more confused than he had ever been before in his life.

"Uh- sorry Ron, I can't. Gotta go, bye!" and she hung up the phone. She burst into fits of laughter and couldn't stop blushing. The other girls giggled with her then immediately requested the play-by-play of what happened. Since there was almost nothing to tell, Hermione shared. The girls couldn't help laughing through it all.

"Ron is so thick sometimes. I swear he knows everything and anything about the Cannons and who's going to win the Cup this year. But ask him about his feelings or something, and you'd think you were talking to Goyle about advanced divination." Ginny said, and the other girls nodded and laughed. Hermione had to agree. Hadn't it become clear to him by now how she felt?

Ron just stared blindly at the phone after Hermione had hung up on him. What had she really wanted to talk to him about? What was she talking about? He raised an eyebrow questioningly at it, but only gave up on what was going on. He hung it back on its hook and sat down on the couch, one hand supporting his forehead, which seemed to be hurting him a little bit. Harry paused the game and looked up at him.

"You okay, mate?" he asked, like a concerned brother.

"Yeah, just confused." He sighed, then leaned back in the couch and closed his eyes, trying harder than ever to make his head stop hurting.

**END Flashback**

Hermione was still completely lost in her trance, but was taken back to reality when she heard a particularly loud wave crash a few feet away from her and wash up at her feet. She smiled and stopped for a second, letting the cool, ocean wind sweep through her hair. She closed her eyes and let it fan over her, feeling free, peaceful.

"Gotcha!" a voice yelled from right behind her, and someone grabbed her waist, disrupting her moment of tranquility. She screamed loud, and she spun around on a reflex, to reveal who was around her waist.

"Ronald _Bilius_ Weasley!" She yelled. He gulped at the mention of his full name, but smiled that infamous lob-sided grin she loved so much. She mock glared at him and stared him down in the eyes. He gazed softly at her, and she forgot being mad at him. Hell, she was alright and it was Ron's strong, masculine arms around her waist. She thought she could feel him pulling her closer to him, but she knew she thought wrong. She let out any anger she still retained at him by lightly and playfully, smacking him on the shoulder, smiling nonetheless. Ron laughed.

"Miss Granger, you're weak." He said, playfully serious.

"Why, Mr. Weasley, would you like me to slap you harder?" she said, in the same playfully serious tone as he. Right as she said it, she immediately wanted to take it back. "That came out all wrong." She said, smiling.

"I'll say." He said, and he let her waist go. She pouted slightly at being let go, but didn't want to arise suspicions, so she just went with the flow. "What're you doing out here?"

"Going for a walk. You?" she answered.

"Going for a walk."

"Want some company?"

"Yeah. Wanna join me?"

"Yeah." She smiled and Ron offered his hand to her like a gentleman. "Quite the gentleman, you are, Ronald." And she took his hand, and interlaced her fingers with his. They began walking forward, slowly.

"Yeah, well, you know. Fred and George insisted they taught me how to treat a girl nicely before this trip. I'm just following orders." He smiled again and Hermione thought she was walking on air, even though she could feel the cold water on her feet. Looking down for a split second, she saw he was barefoot too.

They walked in silence for quite a bit. Just holding hands and walking, each thinking of the other. Hermione was the first to speak what was on her mind, which, coincidentally, was the same as what was on his.

"Um... Ron?" she asked, uncertain and a little bit nervous.

"Mmm?" He mumbled, unaware of what she was about to ask.

"I was thinking, about last night...."

"Yeah?" He was slightly more aware now. She cleared her throat.

"Did that mean anything at all? I mean, we were just having fun, right? Innocent fun and the music took its toll on us." She blushed a little bit, re-remembering the night. Ron looked at her, having gotten the wrong idea of what she meant by it.

"Yeah. Just innocent fun. Blame it on the music." He said dully, and quite disappointed by it and sulked slightly. He didn't believe what he had said. She didn't believe what she had said. They were both becoming even more oblivious to the other. Ron broke the long, uncomfortable silence that followed.

"Hey, wasn't it hilarious when Crabbe and Goyle tripped on the dance floor? I mean, I know they like to _be_ like Malfoy, but trying to _dance with him_ is just too much for _anyone_ to handle!" and he burst out laughing. Hermione laughed, too. It was hilarious. She had seen it last night and almost made her mascara run from her tears of laughter.

"I know, right?" she said through fits of giggles. They both sighed in unison to the other, still walking slowly, hand in hand. Their hands swung back and forth, back in forth, creating shadows across the sand. Shadows of two people holding hands, happy and content, wind in their hair and sand beneath their feet. They were so happy, so desired. And they weren't a couple. As far as the other was concerned, it might never happen. They were just friends, just best mates and nothing more. Forever. Each let out a rather loud and disappointed sigh at the same time, looking down at the earth they were walking on.

A huge wave washed over their feet rather forcefully after a few minutes, making a once stable Hermione lose her balance. It caught her at the ankles and she began to fall. Though the impact of the wave was strong, it apparently was strong enough for a certain redhead to maintain, because his feet stayed rooted in the sand and, moving quickly on an adrenaline rush, caught Hermione a foot before she fell in the sand. One arm supporting behind her back, the other catching her behind the head, he held her gently.

"Thanks for that, Ron." And Hermione smiled at him and looked up into his baby blue eyes. (A/N: if I described his eyes different earlier, sorry..) He stared back into her eyes, smiling.

"Yeah, no problem." He held onto her still, not even realizing another presence among them.

"Well, well, well. If it isn't Weasel and the _Mudblood_ Granger. Did I interrupt something?"

Ron dropped Hermione upon spinning around to see a very smitten and smirking Draco Malfoy, intimately walking with his "girlfriend" of the week, Pansy Parkinson. Hermione moaned from the fall, but Ron didn't notice. He was flustered, angered, and a very bright shade of scarlet.

"Ronnnnnnn!" Hermione yelled, and then she noticed Malfoy there, even though she had heard him. She got up from the sand as if it were fiery hot, and looked him straight in the scowl, a scowl expressing on her lips and in her eyes.

"Shove off, Malfoy! Mind your own business! We weren't even doing anything!" Ron bellowed, towering above the Malfoy heir. Malfoy had grown an inch or two, but Ron was still overwhelmingly taller. At least 6 feet, and still possibly growing.

Malfoy rolled his eyes and Pansy smirked. "Yeah, right," he said sarcastically, "tell me, Granger, have you actually found yourself a winner?" he said smugly.

"We're not together, you ass." She stared at him, a look of cold and pure hatred.

"Now, now, Granger. No need to be harsh. Besides, that's certainly not what you thought of me last year. Remember this?" he said, and leaned in to Pansy and kissed her very passionately on the lips for several long, anticipating seconds. Pansy responds by kissing him back just as passionately, and Ron watches in spite, disgusted by the sight as Draco visually slips his tounge into Pansy's mouth. She giggles shrilly and then the couple break away. Hermione gapes at them, her face reddening.

"What's he talking about, 'Mione?" Ron asked, worried and all out concerned.

"Nothing, Ron. It's nothing." She said quietly and quickly.

" 'Mione'? he has a nickname for you now? Ha! I always thought you liked "Hermy" better... but then again, I could be wrong. And you know very well that it wasn't nothing. I specifically remember a certain bushy-haired Gryffindor asking for more..." he added with a wink, and raised his eyebrow flirtatiously at her.

"I NEVER ASKED FOR MORE!" she screamed at him, holding back some very real and angered feelings, as well as actions.

"Isn't he a good kisser?" Pansy piped in, full of glee.

"ye- NO!" she said quickly, becoming even more angered by the second. Malfoy just smirked.

"If it wasn't so good, why'd you kiss me a _second _time?" he said, blackmail visible in his tone.

"You kissed me _both _times!" she bellowed, louder, so that the ground almost shook.

"But why'd you kiss back?" he snickered now, and his smirk became an evil grin, spreading from ear to ear.

"Go to hell, Malfoy!" she was so red, if she was in Spain, a bull would've charged at her. She was angered beyond anything she had ever been before, by far at least 600 times worse than she had EVER been at Ron. _Oh no, RON!_ She thought.

"there- you two- kissing- _twice?!_" Ron gaped, mouth wide open, in disbelief. He seemed at a loss for words and in the past few moments had gone unusually pale. His mouth was dry so the words he managed to get out were barely audible, and there was a lump in his throat he couldn't seem to force back down.

"Looks like you two have some issues to work out." Malfoy sneered, and he grabbed Pansy's hand and ran back with her towards the hotel. Pansy gave a short, snobby little wave, and together they ran away, kicking sand in the couple's face as they departed.

"Ron, I am SO sorry." Hermione turned to him, her anger almost subsiding, and she gazed at him sympathetically, tears welding in her eyes.

"Hermione." Ron said, regaining himself and coming back into focus of the world around him. He spoke seriously, dully, and his expression was unreadable. "What happened last year?" The truth was, he didn't want to know, but he felt he had to, that he must.

"Look, Ron, it really was no big deal."

"Hermione, tell me. Tell me honestly."

"You won't like what I have to say."

"Say it anyways."

She took a very deep breath, and sighed it out. "Okay. It was right after one of our fights. I was really upset, so I went to the library and just, kind of, sulked there for awhile. Then he came. He walked up behind me and tried to comfort me, and I just kept telling him to shove off- honestly, I swear I was. He started to leave, and I really thought I had actually told him off for once. But instead, he went to my other side and in the quickest second ever, his lips were against mine, passionately and forcefully." She looked disappointed with herself, tears becoming more visible in the corner of her eyes.

"Spare me the details, _please._" Ron said after a second, finally speaking. "Did you like it?" he asked, more serious, anger almost trying to hide what he really felt inside. Heartbreak.

"Look, Ron, I only kissed back because he caught me in a very vulnerable state. I was needy." She said, trying to cover up for herself. She felt more horrible inside than she had ever felt before in her like, and she didn't want to lost Ron forever just because of two stupid, idiotic little instances.

"What about the second time?"

"Again it was after we fought. I went down to the lake, even more upset than before. He was there yet again, and when I asked what he was doing there, he kissed me again. And I- I- I accepted it!" Hermione said, as tears began to stream out of her eyes.

"How could you hide this from me?!" he asked, his voice growing steadily.

"Because I didn't think you needed to know!" her voice was growing in volume, too.

"So you were gonna hide this from me _forever?!_ Is there anything else you've been hiding from me? Still kissing _Vicky?!_" his voice was becoming shaky now. There was anger and resentment in the tone when he mentioned Viktor, and Hermione, being the clever witch she is, picked up on it right away.

"What's he got to do with this?!" she yelled, outraged.

"EVERYTHING IN THE WORLD!" he screamed.

"like what?" she said, calming down slightly, trying to prove a point.

Ron fumbled for words. "He- Well... he- he always tried to-"he couldn't find the words, partly because, he knew there were none, but at this point, he was so angered, it didn't even matter.

"You are so thick." She said, hotly, and behind her tearstained face was heartbreak in herself.

"You are so- grr!" he said, hotly as well.

And they stormed off in opposite directions.

**A/N: love it? Hate it? Sorry bout their little fight, they had to have one last outburst. smiles mischieviously The next chapter will be incredibly AWESOME! And I can't wait to get started on it! I'll try to move a little quicker... promise. Well, as always, please review! Thank you to my 8!**


	6. Confessions at a Midnight Luau

**Disclaimer: Nothing owned, here. Pay all the gratitude to JK Rowling.**

**A/N: thanks everyone for your phenomenal reviews! I'm sorry I started this late, but my weeks have been hectic and sorry bout that. Anyways, I'm also really sorry about the anonymous reviews thing. I thought I allowed them, but I guess I didn't. Now it's changed so anyone can review, even anonymously. Please review! And enjoy this chapter! I loved this chapter! **

Chapter 6: Confessions at a Midnight Luau

If emotions were weather, then they definitely knew how Ron and Hermione were feeling. Thunder clouds were booming outside, and had been booming outside for the past 2 hours, and rain was pounding every inch of the beach. Lightning struck a few times that lit up the entire hotel, and the atmosphere was very depressing. It was as if someone had died, and the weather had held a funeral in its wake. The palm trees swayed in the violent wind and South Shore looked a lot different than it had a few hours ago. Before when everything was simpler, happier.

They had all been restricted from the beach for those few hours, and were all secretly praying hard that the weather wouldn't cancel out the luau that would be held in just 4 hours time, on the beach just outside their hotel. McGonagall had threatened to snap the wand of anyone who would be so foolish as to leave the hotel building for any means, and while she said this, she cast a glare towards Fred and George, both of whom winked at their girlfriend or fiancée and tried to smile innocently.

* * *

Hermione had come back to her room just 20 minutes after her fight with Ron. She hadn't told the girls anything that happened, just went into the room, and sobbed into a pillow, yelling into it as if to make everything alright again. She wanted to take back everything that had happened, everything from lying to Ron to kissing Malfoy in the first place. She just wanted things to be the way they were before anything, before all the complications of life.

But deep down, she knew things would never be the same. She didn't really know if Ron had it in his heart to forgive her. She had gotten over her anger the instant he walked away and replaced it instead with flat out depression and sadness. She felt she had lost him, and to her, that was even worse than being angry with him at all. Why had she blown up at him like that? Why does she have to get so defensive every time he brings up Viktor?

She didn't know the answers this day, but maybe one day she would. She just hoped that say would come sooner rather than later. She needed to find herself, the answers within, and she knew that it might take some time.

She sighed deeply, and watched as a single last tear fell from her face. She just rolled over on her bed so now she was on her back, staring up at the ceiling, eyes red from crying for 2 hours straight, and she was now completely lost in thought.

* * *

Ron came into his room an hour after he and Hermione had fought, slamming the door behind him in his wake, and he was completely soaked from the rain. The rain had started the instant he had stormed off from Hermione, and he knew if he headed back to the hotel, he might run into her and that was the last thing he wanted to do at the moment. So instead, he found a bench along the beach, and laid down on it, on his back, his frontal body towards the falling rain.

He had been thinking about his anger. His temper got the best of him sometimes, a lot of times actually, usually in the worst-case scenarios, too. With Hermione, they seemed to come more frequent. He wasn't the guy many people came to with relationship advice or asked for when it came to emotions, because he wasn't fully in tune with how he truly felt sometimes.

His stomach was in tight knots and he felt like crying. Being the tough guy he was and wanted to be, he had used some Gryffindor courage to hold back his tears, even though it only hurt him more internally. He felt like his heart had been torn in two, and someone was trying to staple it back together, but was having a hard time doing so, and had to keep taking out the staples and readjusting them, which made holes and made the pain all the more worse.

Once he snapped himself back into his own reality, and the fact that his clothes were now dripping wet inside and out, he sulked back up to his hotel room, a little anger resurfacing as he traced the moment back in his brain, and that's when he came into his room, angered and hurt. He just threw the other guys (who were playing poker) a look that said "I-don't-want-to-talk-to-anyone" and just went to the couch, muttering things to himself.

He didn't know that Ginny had called Harry and told him everything that eventually she caved in Hermione to tell her. Harry had no idea where Ron had been, but he knew better than to ask him. Instead, however, he decided against it.

"Ron. What did you do and how will it affect the rest of us?" Harry asked him, solemnly.

Ron stared at him blankly. He always knew. How did he always know? "I fought with Hermione." He mumbled, looking down at his feet.

"Oh. That's it? You guys always fight. How is it that you're so miserable this time?"

"I think I may have screwed things up with her. For good." He sighed, unhappy.

"Dear God, what caused it and what happened?" Harry was trying not to sound amused. Those two were crazy in love, and neither realized the other felt the same way. It was all very amusing, and he knew it would never be over between them.

"She kissed Malfoy last year. Twice." Harry gaped at him. "Let me finish. We ran into him on the beach and when I found out, I took it hard. I was very heated and angered, and even though I was sure that it really had been nothing, it still hurt me, Harry. I stormed off, and said some stuff I didn't mean. But I only said it because I was mad, and heartbroken. I'm the one she's supposed to be with. No one else. Me. Just me and her, together, forever. She's my soulmate, Harry, I know it." He was a little embarrassed that he had just admitted what he promised he would tell no one, and now was more depressed than ever.

And as though the outdoors had heard his words, the storm stopped brewing outside, and the clouds began to clear. Did Ron have more power than anyone ever realized?

"Mate, you've got to tell her." Harry looked him in the eye, not blinking. He knew Ron was sincere about everything he had just said, and he didn't want to embarrass him. He knew the sooner he got those two together, the less stress it would be on everyone.

"I can't. I ruined it."

"Hey, no you didn't. I can prove it to you, too. It's stopped raining and the sun is coming out. I'm positive that the Luau will still be on. Talk to her there, secluded or something. Open your heart to her, Ron. I can guarantee hers will be open for you, too." Harry tried to smile to comfort his friend. The red head sulked.

"You're off your rocker, you know that?"

"So you're going?" he sounded hopeful. This would be only too easy.

"And see her there? Absolutely not. I prefer it here, alone, Hermione-less, thanks."

"Ginny called before and said Hermione didn't want to go. She said she couldn't convince her out of it and that it would just be her and the other 2, if I was interested." Harry lied, trying to maintain eye contact. Ron, thick as he was, had a talent for telling when people lied to him.

"Honest?" the red headed boy asked, looking both disappointed by this bit of information, yet hopeful.

Harry crossed his fingers. "Yeah. So come on, we only get a trip once a year. Live a little!" he hit him in the head with a pillow.

"Fine, but only 'cause she won't be there. I can't think straight with her around."

"Mate, you can't think straight _period._"

"Sod off, Harry." And he smiled. _This is great._ Harry thought. _He believed me. He'll be dead pissed when he finds out I lied to him. But it's for his own good. I can't take those two fighting all the time! I can only hope this plan works out to the way we planned. I wonder how Ginny's doing on convincing Hermione..._

* * *

"Ginny. I'm not going, okay? You heard how I ruined things with Ron. I can't look him in the eye right now. He said some things that were just... that I don't even want to think about. He doesn't want to see me and I don't want to see him." Hermione pouted into her pillow, sitting on the couch now, knees pulled up against her chest and she was hugging a pillow. Her eyes were red from crying so much, but it seemed to lessen now that she had finally calmed down.

"Hermione. I know for a fact that you didn't ruin things with him. So calm down, and just come with us, will you? Have some fun." Ginny smiled weakly, trying to comfort and convince her, hoping she wouldn't have to lie.

"I'm not going, Gin. I told you already, I can't see him right now. I just can't." She sounded a little annoyed, worried her friend didn't hear her well.

"Who says you have to see him?" she smiled, again.

"What are you getting at?"

"Oh, didn't I tell you? Harry called before when you were in the bathroom, told me Ron didn't feel like going either. He couldn't convince him out of it. He told me it would just be him, Seamus, and Neville, if I was interested." She rolled her eyes for effect. "So, Ron won't be there."

Hermione looked up from her pillow. "He- He won't?" she perked up slightly, but wasn't sure if she had understood her correctly.

"No, he won't. Wanna make it a girls' night out then?"

"I don't know, Gin... I'm still trying to recover a bit. I think I just need a little time to myself right now."

"C'mon, it'll be a blast. We can toy with boys' minds, dance until the sun comes up, or at least till McGonnagal tells us to go to bed, and we can just relax. Hawaiian-style! What do you say? Please? _Please?_" she half-pleaded, half laughed. She pouted her lower lip out childishly, and Hermione laughed at her.

"Fine. But only 'cause he won't be there and I don't want you pleading ever again, Ginerva Weasley!" she laughed.

"Deal! C'mon, now we only have 2 ½ hours, now go get ready!" and she pointed Hermione in the direction of the bathroom. Hermione got up, dried her eyes, and walked off, closing the bathroom door behind her.

* * *

Two and a half hours, and toms of make-up later, the four girls were on their way down to the Midnight Beach Bash Luau right outside their hotel, walking with arms linked, laughing and smiling widely. Hermione was even beginning to forget how she had felt only a few hours before. They stepped out the doors, and stopped for a second to survey the scene.

"Gorgeous." Hannah whispered.

"Dreamy." Luna sighed, dreamily.

"Incredible." Hermione smiled.

The beach was decorated with many flaming tiki torches that lined the bamboo dance floor. Bunches of brightly colored hibiscus flowers were sprinkled and hung everywhere, and there were several small, bamboo cabanas that were scattered about and various couples were already occupying the tables underneath. Crepe paper lantern nights were strung all over, magically held up in the air, and the sky was a clear, midnight blue, and was dotted with various stars. Someone was playing a guitar, and several people were surrounding him, mystified and entranced. He was singing an acoustic melody:

_Am I living it right?_

_Am I living it right?_

_Am I living it right?_

_Why? Why, Georgia, Why?_

"Let's Par-tay!" Ginny screamed at the top of her lungs, and the four girls kicked off their flip flops and ran down to the sand, kicking sand up lightly in their tracks. They ran as fast as their legs would take them through the sand, up to who was playing the beautiful music.

As they neared within 10 feet of the little stage, they had to shield their eyes from the bright lights that seemed to magically dwell on the musician. They stepped closer, and saw on stage...

"Neville!" Luna shrieked, jumping up and down to fight her way through the crowd and trying to wave him down as he played the final chord of John Mayer's "Why Georgia".

He scanned the crowd, and his eyes fell upon "his girl", "his Luna", if he could call her that yet. Ah well, close enough. His eyes locked hers and they shared a smile for several seconds. He cleared his throat, preparing another song.

"This next song goes out to a very special girl in the audience." He said, and then continued in a lower voice, "you know who you are."

Luna glowed and the girls patted her on the back and then focused their attention to their friend, and fellow classmate. He strummed the guitar, and began his next piece, which was another guitar one. It was popular, even at Hogwarts, and though played on electrics, Neville seemed to play it magnificently on acoustic. He cast one more smile at Luna, and began.

_Beauty queen of only eighteen_

_She had some trouble with herself_

_He was always there to help her_

_She always belonged to someone else._

All the girls in his little audience shrieked with delight and excitement, and began mouthing the words with him. Several began dancing. Hermione was really happy for one of her best friends, but she couldn't help but be jealous. She scanned the crowd, and spotted Harry and Seamus.

She nudged Ginny in the sides and nodded her head over to where the two boys stood. Ginny repeated the action to Hannah, and the three girls left their mesmerized friend to watch "her guy" in peace.

They navigated their way through the crowd politely, across the other end of the little lit area, which was lit by several tiki torches and lantern lights. Neville was wearing a scarlet colored Hawaiian shirt, and a hemp leu made of shells.

_I don't mind spending everyday_

_Out on your corner in the pouring rain_

_Look for the girl with the broken smile_

_Ask her if she wants to stay awhile_

_And she will be loved_

_She will be loved_

Couples swayed back and forth to his music, and the girls, though intrigued, seemed to have other things on their mind to get to. At last they saw a raven-haired boy standing next to a brown-haired boy, who was talking animatedly to the tall raven-haired boy about something, excitedly. The girls walked forward.

"Harry!" Ginny called out, running over to him and engulfing him in a huge hug. Harry smiled, and though taken aback, hugged back full-heartedly.

"Hey you" Hannah winked at Seamus and he embraced her in a rather "friendly" hug, lasting for several very long seconds.

"Hey Harry" Hermione said sweetly, hugging him quickly.

"Mione! You came!" he shouted, but not too loudly.

"I know, can ya believe it?" she smiled.

"Honestly, no." she slapped him on the arm lightly and playfully. "Anyways, Me and my buddy Seamus here were just talking about you gals. It's quite a party down here." He nodded his head over to the main dance floor, where a half-drunk George was leading a conga line wearing a coconut bra and a grass skirt.

Hermione and Hannah laughed hysterically and Ginny shielded her eyes, as though scarred. Over there, Fred was twirling his fiancée around the dance floor, sweeping her off her feet, literally.

"You ladies wanna dance?" Seamus asked, more to Hannah than to anyone else.

"Hey guys, I got the drinks," said a deep voice behind the guys, about five feet away. He nudged his way through Harry and Seamus, and his red hair and baby blue eyes were only distinguishable. He was laughing, and then turned to look into the faces of a guilty Harry and a Ginny, a clueless Hannah and Seamus, and a shocked Hermione.

"_Hermione? What are you doing here?_" Ron croaked out, his voice several pitches higher than normal. He blushed crimson, embarrassed that he hadn't seen this coming.

"_Ron? I should be asking you the same question."_ Her voice was dry, she had clearly stopped breathing for the past few seconds. Harry and Ginny, clueless as to handle the situation, tried to act innocent, but couldn't hide the guilt in their eyes.

"Harry told me it'd just be us guys." His voice was trying to recover, but was still a little higher than usual.

"Funny, Ginny told me it'd just-"she broke off and turned her head slowly to see Ginny's 'innocent' face trying to smile back at her. "_Ginerva Molly Weasley!"_ she said, in a low voice, causing everyone in their little circle to jump.

"You _lied _to me!" she began to raise her voice.

"Not lied- well, okay, maybe, but it was for you own good!" Ginny attempted.

"I can't believe this!" she said, and she walked past them, out of the crowd, and down the beach, huffing absent-mindedly.

Ron turned to Harry. "I can't believe it either, Mate. I'll see you later." He said, huffing, yet calm. He shoved the drinks into Seamus and Harry's hand, and walked off, his fists clenched.

"Your plan had better work, Ginny." Harry sighed, watching the direction the two had stormed off in.

"It will. I hope." She said, biting her lower lip. She was nervous, but didn't want to show it. If this worked, they'd love her for life. If it backfired, she was as good as being on Voldemort's hit list. She hoped it worked, but one could never know. People act in mysterious ways, after all.

* * *

Hermione stopped walking once the she couldn't see the faces in the light anymore. She was about 150 feet from the area, crossing into the line of another hotel. The lights could barely reach there, giving her just enough light to see 6 feet in front of her. She collapsed onto the sand and just stared out at the ocean, sighing deeply.

"Mione?" came a very familiar voice a few feet away from her. She continued to look out at the ocean, and only took full notice to the figure when he stepped into her range of vision. "Hey you." Ron smiled at her, sitting himself down in the sand next to her and turning to face her. She turned to face him, feeling it would be rude and impossible to just ignore him.

"Hey" she said quietly.

"Look, I want you to know I had no part in this. It was all Harry and Ginny, I swear." He looked at her, sympathetic and solemn.

She smiled. "I know, Ginny's a horrible liar." And they both laughed lightly. She turned to look at him full on, and looked into his eyes.

"Ron, I feel I owe you an apology." She said, feeling her stomach in knots.

"You have nothing to apologize about. I was the one who should have been more understanding. I shouldn't have blown up at you and I shouldn't have let my temper get the best of me. I also shouldn't have said some things I really didn't mean. I'm sorry, Hermione." He looked her in the eyes, and she could see that he really meant it. She smiled at him.

"Don't worry about it, Ron. I know you, I've seen your temper and I know when you say things you don't really mean. I'm your best friend, I'm supposed to know these things."

"So you forgive me?" he looked hopeful.

"Absolutely." They shared a smile and gave each other a nice little hug.

"Ron, I'm sorry, too. I should have told you about Malfoy sooner. I don't even know why it happened. But I never wanted to recall those moments ever, I guess what's why I kept it from you. Because keeping it from you was a lot easier, or so I thought, than facing the truth. I'm really sorry." She seemed disappointed with herself, and looked down the whole time she was telling him this.

He put his hand under her chin and tilted her head up so he was fixing his eyes on hers. "Hey, it was nothing, right? I just got mad 'cause I was a little... -erm... Jealous." He said, and his ears turned pink, and it was his turn to look away from her.

Hermione, puzzled, shifted her weight in the sand, and turned to him. "Why would you be jealous? And of _Malfoy_ no doubt." She asked him, very confused.

"It's not- erm- just- uh- him that I'm jealous of. It's Vicky, too." His ears turned even pinker, and he talked very quietly, almost to himself.

"Viktor." She corrected him automatically.

"Yeah, right, sorry." He said, almost in a whisper.

"Why would you be jealous of Viktor, too? Why's he in the picture again?" she was genuinely confused now, yet very curious. She chose her words carefully, so she wouldn't set his temper off again.

He turned to look at her, locking their eyes. His face was beat red, and his voice wavered a little nervously as he spoke, yet he sounded brave and dignified. "Because they've gotten everything I've ever wanted since I was in third year." He looked away again, embarrassed he had just let his secret slip.

"And what would that be?" she asked, very curiously.

"You." He said simply, looking her in the eyes again, a smile on his lips.

"Me?" he nodded. "Ron, you like me?" she asked, astounded, and very excited, making sure she had interpreted him correctly.

"Yeah, I do. I really do." He said, still maintaining eye contact. "But look, 'Mione, if it's too weird, I can just pretend nothing ever happened. I really don't want to lose you as a friend. You're the best person I've ever known. I can't lose you." He said, quickly.

She blushed slightly and cleared her throat to stop his rambling. "Ron?"

"Yes?" he looked nervous.

"Let me speak."

"Okay, just let me down easy, will ya?" he teased.

"You haven't even let me said what I was going to say yet."

"Sorry." He mumbled.

She took a deep breath and continued, smiling, her heart jumping with joy inside her chest. "Ron. You're the best person _I've _ever known. You're the sweetest guy on the planet and you make my life more interesting, and a hell of a lot of fun." She smiled and Ron raised an eyebrow at her as he caught her swearing. "I've always liked you as a friend." He doubted his luck. "But I've loved you as more than a friend since third year, too."

"Seriously?" he asked her, unsure if it was all a scheme or not. Inside his chest, his heart was beating very quickly from excitement and he tried to contain himself to get out a steady statement.

"Of course." She smiled, and he smiled back at her.

Unsure of what to with herself now, though overbearingly excited to say the least; she subconsciously moved closer to him and hugged him very firmly around his neck, and he wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer to him, taking the hug to his fullest advantage, soaking in every ounce of the moment; the way the ocean beat the sand, the way the sand felt between his toes, the way her face lit up when she spoke to him. He wanted to remember it forever. He hugged her gently, and very considerately, relaxing and feeling the comfortable feeling it felt to have her in his arms, in his embrace.

He was very disappointed when he felt her grip on him relax and he could feel her pull away. Before he even knew what he was doing, as she was already turning back to look at the ocean now, almost free of his grip, except they were holding hands, with interlaced fingers, he had gathered up all of his Gryffindor courage almost out of thin air.

"Mione?" he asked, quickly.

But before she could answer, before she could utter a sound, he had spun her close to him by her hand that they had been holding. And in one swift, quick movement, his lips were pressed against hers, firm, yet tender. Hermione closed her eyes immediately on a reflex, and subconsciously, it took her a second before she realized what had happened.

The moment she realized it was the moment she had smiled into the kiss, and kissed him back, deepening it slightly, putting her hands behind his neck, as if to pull him in closer. Ron kissed her back, with some passion he had built up inside him for the past 4 years. The past four years of anticipating, of wondering, of longing.

Hermione kissed him back again, running her fingers through his hair, taking in its texture. Ron kissed her back, a little more passionately, but no so much as to get carried away, wrapping his arms around her waist and gently massaging her back.

Unknowing what might happen if they carried on like this, Ron broke away, smiling, and a very, very deep shade of scarlet. He stared into her eyes, finally having what he's always wanted, and knew in his mind, that he wouldn't let anything happen to her. To _his_ Hermione. She smiled back at him, gazing into those baby-blue eyes she adored. She, too, was dawning a very dark crimson about her face, but ignored the heat on her face as she stared into the face of innocence, the face of love, staring back at her.

Ron closed his eyes, and, with their foreheads touching, whispered to her, "I love you, Hermione. I always have, and I always will."

She closed her eyes, too, and, smiling bigger than she ever had in her life, smiling as if she had just gotten an entire library for Christmas, she whispered back, "I love you, too, Ron. Forever, and for always."

"Do me a favor?" he whispered, smiling, and still had his eyes shut.

"Anything." She whispered back.

"Be my girlfriend, Hermione Granger?" he asked, hopeful, and gentle.

"Without a doubt. I wouldn't want it any other way." She smiled, enjoying their time.

And he kissed her again, sweetly, lightly, and broke away after she had kissed him back gently. And the new couple sat side-by-side, fingers interlocked, in the sand, staring out at the ocean, seeing their whole future before them.

* * *

**A/N: Yay! They kissed! dances around Hehe I loved this chapter! It was awesome to write... after this one I'm gonna do a short little aftermath one that'll interrupt my regular outline a little just 'cause I didn't have it planned but I think it'll be fun to just continue this chapter slightly. So yeah, it'll only be a couple pages- so look for that one soon! Please Review! I love you all a lot more if you do! I need inputs- love or hate it?**


	7. The Night Has Yet to End

**Disclaimer: I love Harry Potter. But he wasn't my creation. He was JK Rowling's. **

**Author's Note: Thank you all for your phenomenal reviews! It really was one of the main reasons why I got in to write this chapter so quick. I all ready have some really funny ideas I came up with a bit ago. This chapter will really have no purpose, but I wanted to have some fun. It'll be quick and it wasn't part of my original plan. So think of this chapter as a "bonus feature" or chapter 6 ½, even though it'll be labeled chapter 7... anyways, that's enough of my blabbing, on with the chapter! (Also- I updated by bio- check it out!) btw- I LOVE that maroon 5 song!**

Chapter 7: The Night Has Yet to End

Ron and Hermione sat side-by-side, in the still quietness for about 30 minutes, but who was counting? The darkness had set in well, and the tide was brimming up the beach, slowly, steadily. The wind had picked up over the ocean and was now blowing over the two, picking up Hermione's curls and blowing them all over Ron's face.

Ron lifted a hand and brushed the loose curls from her face, looking into her eyes affectionately, and she smiled at him. "Thanks" She whispered, not daring to disrupt the moment.

He leaned forward slightly and kissed her gently on the lips, and she moaned gently, sinking deeper into the sand, the small grains forming a mold around them, filling in any empty spaces, and providing a warm cushioning for them, making them more comfortable.

Hermione sighed. "We'd better get back to the luau." And she attempted to look down at him, but only giggled when he tickled her on the stomach. She swatted his arm, and he smiled at her. He moved an inch so that he could rest his head on her chest.

"5 more minutes." He groaned sleepily, and snuggled into her stomach. Hermione giggled and ran her fingers through his hair, massaging his head gently.

"And what'll everyone say when they've noticed we've been gone?" She looked down at him, and kissed him lightly on his head. He smiled and snuggled her stomach again. "C'mon, Ron, you know if Professor McGonnagal found us here, like this, we'd be expelled."

Yawning, he said, "You just have to go and ruin this fun." And he started to get up, kissing her as he came to her eye level. She giggled and kissed him back, sweetly, and they broke away.

"If I don't, we'd be here all night." Her mind seemed to come back to her now.

"..And what's the problem with that?" he smiled sweetly, adding a little bit of a yawn for dramatic effect.

"Nothing... but I don't feel like getting expelled." She sighed.

"You and your worries. But if it makes you feel better, we'll head back. I wouldn't want to be the cause of getting you in trouble for the first time anyways." He smiled, now sitting himself up entirely and stretching.

"Thank you." And she proceeded to get herself up. "Hey, I just realized something." She looked quizzical, almost as if she was making a major decision.

"What's that?" He was curious, and unsure of where she was going.

"How're we going to tell everyone?"

"You're right. They'll flip when they find out because it took us so long to realize it. They'll just remind us that they knew long before we did. I hate it when they're right." He huffed, defeat coming over him.

"What do you suggest we do, Ronald?" She crossed her arms at him, for no apparent reason, but just for the fun of it.

"You feel like keeping it a secret for a bit?" He smiled mischievously.

"What?!" She was wide-eyed now, and a little taken aback.

"Hermione, before you go and yell at me saying how we shouldn't be ashamed of us or anything, just let me finish." She gaped at him, knowing he could read her mind, her every thought. "We don't want to prove them right, right?" she nodded. "Right. So, all I'm merely suggesting, and you know I'm not ashamed of us in _any _way, that we toy with them for a bit. You know, see how _they_ like being tricked. I mean, they did it to us!"

"Hmm..." she was considering this, carefully, and knowing Hermione, had already made a pro's and cons list inside her mind and was racking through it to see which side was more plausible. "Okay." She smiled.

"This trip," He paused, his smile growing more every second, "just got a bit more interesting." And they laughed together before walking back to the luau, hand in hand, barefoot along the beach.

* * *

**Meanwhile...**

"Hit me!" Dean bellowed from the bar, ordering 'rounds' of drinks for him and his friends, though none seemed to get past him. The bartender seemed intimidated, and thoroughly frightened at his becoming state, but it was all non-alcoholic, and Dean's 'drunkenness' was all in his mind. This is what made it all the more amusing for the surrounding Gryffindors and classmates.

Harry chuckled, and slid him a shot of 'firewhiskey'. Only Dean didn't know that it was actually cherry coke. He popped his head back and took the 'shot' full on, then turned to Parvati, smiling sheepishly. "Hey baby."

She looked amused. "Hey there." She winked flirtatiously at him, toying with him.

He bent low to her and whispered in her ear, "Let's say you and me go somewhere where we can really be alone." and he wagged his eyebrows at her. She rolled her eyes. "Okay. Take me wherever you desire." And everyone around her gasped. He took her by the hand and sped her away a few dozen yards and she turned around and winked at them, clearly having something planned. This should be good.

Harry wrapped his arm around Ginny, who blushed, by the way, and looked around at the chaos. The soft fabric of his green Hawaiian print shirt was pressed against her cheek, and she could feel the heat rise up in her face. She put her arm around his waist, because he was too tall to even attempt to put her arm around his neck. He smiled down at her, and she smiled up at him. The hand that wasn't on Harry was holding a virgin Strawberry Daiquiri, which she took a sip, hoping to stable her temperature a bit.

She looked around, and immediately spit out her drink with what she saw. George was leading the conga line again, still in his coconut bra and grass skirt, a lei of brightly colored tropical flowers around his neck, and one particularly bright pink one was tucked behind his right ear. He looked like he had been drinking quite a bit, and everyone knew from the sight of him that what he'd been drinking was, in fact, alcoholic.

Behind him was Fred who looked rather intoxicated himself. He was the second in the line and was singing:

_Ole Ole Ole Ole_

_Feeling Hot Hot HOT_

_I'm Hot. You're Hot._

_He's Hot. She's hot. _

He was dancing dramatically, almost as if he had just come straight off the Caribbean islands, and was, well, just being Fred. And behind him, 20 or so guys and girls, all tropically clothed, were all conga-ing behind him, dancing, laughing, having fun.

Fred turned his head to his left and saw Angelina, looking at her as if he had just seen her for the first time. _"Mui Caliente!"_ He shouted, and spun out of the line, and the person behind him grabbed onto George's shoulders, and he grabbed Angelina by her waist, pulled her close to him, dipped her down low, and kissed her fiercely. She let out a soft little scream but was silenced by his kiss, and kissed back, knowing well in advance that everyday she lived with him would be an adventure worth living.

George, having also spotted his Katie, winked at the guy behind him to let him know he would be leading. _"Ay Carumba!" _He bellowed at the top of his lungs, and he walked over to Katie, stumbling a little bit, and slurred something into her ear. She blushed brightly, looked down at her stomach, and then giggled, running off to somewhere down the beach, holding hands and frolicking in the sand.

They passed, and almost ran into, Ron and Hermione, who were coming closer to the luau area. Both of them, Ron and Hermione, that is, were each sporting a very deep blush and a smile that wouldn't fade as they came closer. They each had no idea as how to manipulate the minds' of their closest friends, but knew to follow the lead of whoever spoke first. They approached Harry, Ginny, and the rest of their little group. Ron gave Hermione's hand a light squeeze, and then let go, putting his hands in his pockets.

"Whoa, what'd we miss?" he said, laughing slightly, seeing Fred, who was now twirling his fiancée wildly around the dance floor, kissing her quite a bit every time she came close enough.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Ginny said sarcastically, and smiled, as if she almost knew. His smile almost gave it all away. _Almost. _

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?" He crossed him arms over his chest, and Hermione couldn't help but steal a glance at his muscles, but then quickly averted her eyes back to meet Harry and Ginny's.

"Where were you two, mate? And why were you gone so long?" Harry spoke for Ginny, thinking the same thing as her, and speaking on both their behalf.

"Why do you have your arm around my sister?" Ron narrowed his eyes and smiled, glaring at him. _Good, this way I don't have to lie just yet. _He thought.

"I asked you first." He said simply. It was Harry's turn to glare knowingly, though he was sure he knew the answer, he was much more content if he knew his assumptions were true.

"Why do you want to know?" _Okay, Good. Asking questions is much better than falling out our plan. Oh yeah, I'm a genius. _And Ron chuckled slightly to himself.

"Why aren't you answering me?"

"Why are you questioning me?"

Ginny had had enough of this. So did Hermione. He would end up ruining their mischievous little plan, so she decided to stop him while he was ahead.

"Boys. Let's just party, okay?" Hermione smiled and winked at Ron, just as Harry turned to look at Ginny, looking into her eyes and smiling sympathetically. His smile told her everything. _I'm sorry. I didn't mean to get so wrapped up. Forgive me? I'll make it up to you somehow. _Was what it had said to her, though not literally. It wasn't a big deal, not at all. But him making it a bigger deal than it was was sweet of him. Harry was a sweet guy, after all.

"Okay." They both said together, though each cast a sideways glance toward the other that only meant, _You can't hide what you're hiding for long. I'm onto you and I'll know soon enough. _Instead, they smiled it off, and Ron, copying Harry, feeling as it wouldn't arouse any new suspicions, put his arm around Hermione and ordered them some drinks; a Shirley Temple for her, a Coca Cola for him.

He returned to where everyone was standing and handed Hermione her drink, "Here you go, 'Mione." He said, smiling at her, and he took a sip of his own drink.

"Thank you." She said sweetly, and sipped it casually.

"So do you think we-"She began to whisper in his ear, but cut herself off when she heard severe yelling from a few feet away.

"Oy! You already have one on the way! Do you want more kids 'fore this one's even born?!" Fred yelled, waving his arms in the air at his twin, who had returned from his little 'outing' with Katie, who's hair was in disarray and buttons on her shirt seemed to be mismatched. George's hair was sticking up at all angles, and he appeared to have lip gloss smudges all over his face. He was grinning sheepishly, as if his brother's words were going in one ear and out the other.

Fred huffed and murmured something about "Unbelievable," before he proceeded back to spinning his fiancée around the dance floor, paying only focus to her, and having the time of his life.

Harry attempted to hula with Ginny, because she appeared to have picked up the concept quite well, and now only needed someone to dance with. His attempt wasn't going too well though, because as she moved to the rhythms and quirky beats, he would be moving in the opposite direction, not even aware he was doing so. She just giggled at this, put her hands on his hips, and tried to move his hips in correlation to hers, so it looked like they both knew how to dance together.

In defeat, however, they both gave up, and, very exhaustedly, went over to an expanded 8-person cabana, where they each collapsed into two chairs right next to the other.

"I'm beat." Ginny panted, helping herself to glasses of water.

"I'm exhausted." Harry said, helping himself to glasses of water. Ginny applied more lip gloss then went to check her hair in the mirror.

"Fancy a walk?" Ginny turned to him, getting up from her chair and standing behind him.

"Don't you know it?" He said, getting up from his chair, clearly forgetting his state of tiredness. Ron yawned somewhere to his left and Hermione was talking homework with Hannah, and Seamus was, well, around.

"I thought they were tired." Hermione murmured so only Hannah could hear. Hannah laughed lightly and Ginny turned to them.

"What's so funny?" she said, crossing her arms.

"Nothing." They both said together, a little quicker than they should have. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"We'll be back soon." She said, walking away.

"Take your time!" Hermione called after her, and began laughing. Her fist landed on the table, which awoke an almost sleeping Ron with a start. He smiled at her, then closed his eyes and leaned back against the table, staring absent-mindedly at Hermione.

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Harry and Ginny walked a few feet away before Harry stopped them and spun her around, only a couple yards from their cabana. The stars were a little more visible on the clear night and the moon was full and awake in their presence.

"Hey, Ron would kill me if I took you any farther." Harry said, smiling down at her, and nodding towards where her older brother was almost sleeping at the table.

"I suppose he would." She said nonchalantly, and winked at him. She took a step towards him so that the couple was only standing a few feet apart.

A large gust of wind blew around them and, by instinct, Ginny turned herself against the wind, the cool air sweeping her face, and she closed her eyes peacefully, allowing the air to encircle her. She spread open her arms and stood there against the face of the wind, enjoying the freedom it brought to her.

She almost forgot Harry was there, until he spoke up, "Uh, Gin? Have you been hanging around Luna too much lately?"

She awoke out of her trance to slap him lightly on the shoulder, mock glaring. The wind was still blowing lightly and her flaming red hair was going in all directions. When it finally died down, her hair was in a mess around her head. She just stood there, smiling at him through her sea of hair, attempting to remove it.

He brought a hand up to a particular strand that fell in front of her face and brushed it behind her ear, his hand rubbing the side of her cheek. "There you go." He said, and smiled at her yet again.

"Thanks for that." She said, and continued to fix her hair. It was a nervous habit, one that would unlikely be broken, but everyone has their traits.

"One more thing." He said, and he walked a few feet away to a patch of daisies that were growing by the edge of the beach. He picked a bright blue one (A/N: yes, they do exist. I've seen them) and walked back over to her slowly, brushing little grains of sand off it and making it look perfect.

He came back to where he was standing before and tucked the flower behind her left ear. "There. Now you look even more perfect than you did before." And he hugged her.

All she could do was smile and hug him back, not believing that this had all just happened. She was alone with Harry on a vacation away from school. He was being really sweet to her. She liked him and maybe it was possible that he liked her, too. They still had 5 days left in this trip and if any of them were close to what this night had been, well, she knew that this would surely be the trip of her life.

_The night is young, _she thought, _and so am I. _And with that, she had dragged Harry back to the cabana, knowing that everything they had said was surely heard by the occupants of their table.

_2 nights down, and 5 more to go. _She thought. _Only god knows what tomorrow brings. Surprises shall await me and I shall take them head on, suspecting nothing, but rather embracing time. Life is short. Live it to the fullest every day. I guess I'd better make up for lost time, then. This trip will have a trademark, I must remember every aspect of this trip, inside and out, and remember the way I feel right now is pretty damn Harry- happy! HAPPY. God, I couldn't get that boy off my mind no matter now hard I tried._

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**A/N: well, that's the end of that chapter! It was a short, little one and I hope y'all enjoyed it! PLEASE read and review! Especially those of you I know and I gave this link to! It helps to hear/see what everyone has to say! And yea I'm sorry if the ending to this was a little, off, but more will happen, and I know I like to do situations with walks, but I needed to get Harry and Ginny away from Ron! Haha! I'll post after 35 reviews! So keep reviewing please! xoxoxo**


	8. Day 3: Sunrise Swims

**A/N: Thank you all for all the reviews! We surpassed the goal! Yay! I'm really sorry it took me awhile to get started on this. There was homecoming and band competitions and just so much homework to do, plus my dad told me he was going to reconfigure our hard drive, so I didn't want to start something that would only be erased in the long run, but it hasn't happened yet so I'll try and get this done... but yeah. **

**For all who were wondering: Ron and Hermione's plan is that basically, they're just going to not act like a couple. Not really much of a plan, but like I said, that chapter was just a bonus and I didn't mean for it to interrupt the events I'd already had planned. Yeah, sorry bout that. So basically, they're not planning on having anyone find out about them, at least not anytime soon. I guess we'll leave it at that. Here's Chapter 8! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 8: Day 3: Sunrise Swims

It was four o'clock in the morning and the sun had not yet risen. The wind rippled the edge of the water, sending chills up anyone's spine. The moon was set very high in the sky, and was starting to descend the air with an atmosphere of celestial beauty. It was eclipsed slightly, being the only time of year when the moon fully passed into the shadow of the Earth and the sun, but the aura that surrounded the area could not have been more beautiful. (A/N: I know in May it probably wouldn't be, but I'm just trying to create an illusion here)

Inside the hotel, as always, Harry Potter lie awake in bed, more often that usual nowadays, and always troubling thoughts between him and a certain girl he, well you could say, he fancied. Her face appeared every time he shut his eyes and when he finally was asleep, she floated his every dream, and waked his every memory. He imagined them together, in different scenarios, saying her part in his mind and usually his aloud. He usually sighed as he did this, thinking it a crazy thought that she might ever like him. But guys can dream, too, can't they?

"Ginny, if only you knew how much I thought about you, then you'd finally see what kind of guy I can be for you." He said softly to himself, before rolling over in bed and facing the ceiling, his hands behind his head.

"This is crazy." He mumbled to himself as he got out of bed groggily, and left the room in nothing but his pajamas, heading somewhere. He didn't know where, but he really didn't care. Anywhere was better than having to trouble his mind with helpless fantasies that might never come true.

He walked out the door, into the elevator, and down to the main lobby level floor, carefully, of course, as to pass security, unnoticed. He found himself walking to the indoor pool, which was covered by glass walls and a clear, transparent glass roof. He walked through the door and just collapsed into a nearby pool chair, his head in his hands, and sighing loudly.

"Harry! When did you get here?!" said a voice coming from in the pool, as if finally surfacing from the depths of the water after a good minute or so.

"Hullo Ginny." Harry said, looking up from his hands to see Ginny at the edge of the pool, looking up at him with water droplets dripping down her face and back and through her hair.

"What's wrong?" She asked, cautiously, inching slightly over the edge of the pool to hear better.

"Nothing. It's nothing, really. I'm over it." He said, though the thought he'd had before was still on the back of his mind. He was smiling slightly, now. "So what are you doing up at four AM?" he asked her, his lips now turning up into a bigger smile, and he leaned forward in his chair.

"I should be asking you the same question." She said, winking slightly.

"I asked you first." He said as he got up off his chair and went over to the side of the pool to where she was standing, and sat down, his feet dangling in the water.

"I couldn't sleep. Besides, Luna was telling me last night about the eclipse that would lapse into this morning and I thought I might check it out for myself, it's gorgeous." (A/N: again, I know eclipses don't usually happen in the morning) They both turned their heads to look through the glass and up at the sky, where the moon was disappearing quickly and being overtaken with shades of orange and red.

_It's not the only gorgeous thing around here. _He thought, and smiled at her.

"So what bring you here at this hour?" She asked, still looking up at the sky, but stealing quick glances at him every now and then.

"Same as you, minus the eclipse part, though it is beautiful. I had trouble sleeping. Just have a lot on my mind, that's all." He said, turning his gaze to meet hers now.

She blushed slightly, because that was one of the moments she had chosen to glance at him and watch him, looking for any signs of unusual behavior on his part. Signs a good friend would be searching for. In her case, however, she was searching for something more.

She smiled mischievously at him, trying to direct his mind away from the fact that she had been staring at him, and bent low, arms stretched as if she was about to splash.

"I know that look, Miss Weasley, and I'll save you the time." He smiled and pulled his shirt off over his head, and covering one hand in front of her eyes, he pulled down his shorts so that he was only in his red, plaid boxers, and jumped in. She giggled at this gesture, then swan over to him.

He tried to swim away, but hit a dead end and dove under, grabbing her legs and pulling her to him, smiling the whole time. She surrendered and allowed herself to be pulled back by him.

"Miss Weasley, you're not going to put up a fight?" he asked, flirtatiously and coyly.

"Why, Mr. Potter, the fight has only just begun." And she splashed him right in the face, and he blinked at her, his hair soaking wet and clinging to every inch of his head.

"We sound like Ron and Hermione." She said, and backstroked out of his grasp.

"You've heard them do that, too?" he asked, certain they only flirted like that around him.

"Hasn't everyone?" and they laughed together. "Speaking of them, what was up with them yesterday after they got back from storming off?"

"I don't know. You think they had another row?" he asked, raising an eyebrow, curiously, trying to recall exactly what his friends had been like when they returned yesterday.

"You know what I think?" she said, getting excited and swimming closer to him.

"What's that?" he asked, looking into her eyes, trying to look for anything that might give the secret away.

"I bet you they got together." She said, and smiled, now even closer to him.

"Ron and Hermione? Highly possible. But they seemed pretty mad yesterday. It could be possible that it might take them a little bit longer to make up again." He pondered the idea for a few minutes.

"How much do you wanna bet i'm right?" she asked, raising an eyebrow of her own and gave him an I-know-everything look.

"Ten galleons?"

"You're on!" and they shook hands for effect.

Harry swam away from her, to the other end of the rectangular pool, splashing her as he kicked up water. "I know I'll be right!" he laughed as he swam away.

Ginny chased him and finally caught up with him, in the deep end of the pool, where he was able to stand but her short stature prevented her from doing so. She swam over to him and treaded water a little bit from where he stood. "Boys. You always think you know everything." She muttered flirtatiously.

"Sure do! Ask me anything!" he said, playfully being cocky. Harry wasn't ever a cocky guy, so it was in that way that she knew he was kidding.

"Okay. What are the four main ingredients in a Swelling Solution?" she asked, her smile growing as she asked it.

"Okay, you caught me. But I know more than you think I know." He said as she rolled her eyes at him. He could see that she was getting tired from treading water so he reached him arms underwater and pulled her up to him, holding her close.

"Erm- Gin? Can I ask you something now?" Harry asked, swallowing hard, gaining courage.

"Sure. What've ya got for me?" she asked playfully.

"Only this." And he shut his eyes and pressed his lips to hers before she could say anything. She was taken aback, but really excited. The reality of Harry kissing her finally hit her after a few seconds, to which she reacted to his gesture by kissing him back, softly and tenderly.

"So what's your question?" She asked flirtatiously after they pulled away.

"Oh, yeah, that. Um, Will you go out with me?" he asked hopefully, smiling down at her petite form.

"Hmm, I'm going to need to think about that." She said playfully, and pretended to think it over. "Yes, I'd love to."

"Then I guess you wouldn't mind if I did this?" he said, and kissed her once more, only this time, it was different. It wasn't small and innocent, it was full and passionate. His hands made their way down to the small of her back then up to her shoulders. She responded by kissing him back hard and wading her hands up to his messy, black hair, her fingers getting tangled in the strands.

He kissed her back deeper, gradually moving his mouth more passionately against hers, gently pushing her against the back edge of the pool, where they could both stand, not breaking away for a second. She kissed him a little harder and could feel all the anticipation, all the excitement that was going into this one kiss, which, actually, had progressed into many.

He continued to kiss her back, gradually sliding his tongue into her mouth. She could feel he was uncertain and very nervous about what he'd done, which is exactly why she let him know it was okay. She slid her own tongue into the likes of his mouth, exploring every inch.

It was then that she began to slide down against the wall, losing the grip she'd had, and starting to fall lower into the water. In a struggle to stay standing, she had to break away from Harry to catch herself before there was serious damage done. However, the only damage that was done was the moment was lost. They were together now, they could have more moments like that anytime they wanted. So, then, why did it feel like it might never be gotten back?

"Harry, I'm really sorry." She said, sympathetically.

"It's ok, it's not your fault you fell. I shouldn't have pressed you against the wall." He said, apology in his emerald green eyes.

"No, I mean, about the kiss. Do you think we took it a little too far?" she was nervous, not knowing how he might react. Surely, she had loved every minute of it, don't get her wrong, but for only getting together just a few minutes ago, maybe it should go slower.

He smiled sheepishly, "A little." He answered modestly.

"Would you mind if we took things a little bit slower? I mean, it's just that I don't know if I'm ready for anything like that this soon. Don't get me wrong, snogging you is beyond great, Harry, it's just- what are you laughing at?" she ended, seeing him laugh slightly.

"Ginny, you're rambling." He said, smiling wide with glee.

"Sorry about that." She said quietly.

"Listen, you don't need to apologize for everything. I've known you long enough to know how you act and to know when you say something you don't mean, or something like that. So don't worry about apologizing to me, unless of course, it's major." He ended half-serious, but more joking.

"Thanks." And she smiled up at him, as drops of water continued to fall, tearfully, from his hair, into the pool. "About the kiss though-"

"We can take things as fast or as slow as you'd like. As long as I'm with you, I'll be completely overjoyed." And he bent down to kiss her sweetly on the lips.

"Thanks again, Harry, for everything."

"Anything for you."

"That a promise?"

"Most definitely."

She shivered in the pool, the cool air in the air conditioned room now caressing her shoulders and face, sending a chill through her spine, and shivers up her back that she couldn't control.

Together they leaned back against the far edge of the pool, where they could both stand. Harry put his arm around her and she smiled up at him, as they watched the sun rise through the glass windows, over the hilltop, and ascend into the sky, already proving as a sign that would ignite the day and brighten their futures already.

**A/N: I am so sorry it took this long to post. And I'm also really sorry that this chapter wasn't long enough. But next chapter is a brand new day, full of sun and surf. Beach maybe? Time will tell and more Ron/Hermione storylines. But yes thanks again to everyone who reviewed! It really did make me happy. So yes, please repeat the action again! Can we try to reach 50? Thanks again everybody, I hoped you liked this one!**


	9. Making Out by the Docks

**Disclaimer: By now, you know that I don't own Harry Potter.**

**Author's Note: I'm incredibly sorry for not getting this chapter up sooner. My dad finally got these files- all 9- transferred over to the new computer- so I'm ready to finish writing this chapter and continue on with my story. Thank you to all my incredible reviewers who kept reviewing in my absence, and all you wonderful readers who made me anxious to get this chapter up as soon as possible. This chapter is entirely dedicated to you all. I really hope I didn't lose any of you- you guys are what help me to write! I'm really sorry, again. So, please enjoy this chapter! **

**Also, at this point, in my trip, it would have been our all day band and chorus competition, so I'm filling in many of those events with beach days. Also, we stayed a mere 4 days, whereas they are staying a full week. Oh yeah, and also, the further I get along in this story, the more far out I'm branching from the real events. So don't think that I did all these things on my school trip, because I didn't. I'm a total good girl. ;)****

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Chapter 9: Making Out by the Docks

It was the same day that Harry and Ginny had gotten together, only this time, it was beyond mid-morning and the new couple had already split their separate ways to their individual rooms to prepare for the day to come. Another beach day, of course, as because there was so little beach at their countryside school, everyone was more than determined to make up for it in one party-filled week.

The sun was shining and the day was hot, and what was even hotter, perhaps, was the energy that went through the new couples. Not like _that_ of course, but there was so much, excitement. There's nothing like a first love.

They were all walking down to the beach from the hotel, everyone dressed brightly in their bathing suits, all eight, one might add. Ron and Hermione were often seen in giggling fits walking down, staring at one another and smiling constantly. It was rather irritating to the others, who had by now, really began to be annoyed at their constant behavior, seeing as their love lives were almost absent.

However, Ginny and Harry weren't bothered by them, because as they walked down, Harry would "casually" brush his hand against Ginny's and hold her hand for a few seconds, causing her to blush and smile at him. It was a pleasant sight to see, but it had to go unnoticed, this being particularly because of the overprotective older brother walking some eight feet ahead of them.

They all arrived down at the sandy shores and lay down all their towels and belongings, shading their eyes against the harsh spring sun. Hannah lay on her stomach, her back to the sky, catching the sun's rays. Seamus lay on his back a couple feet away, admiring her through the lenses in his aviator sunglasses. Luna, was, being Luna and was deeply interested in the Quibbler, reading something about sun rays and some kind of "creature" recently discovered.

"Did you know that the Red-Bellied Forgewhack is the reason why we get sunburned? You see, it's a miniscule mystical creature that lives in the rays from the sun and propel themselves on our skin, and shoot a sharp little needles into our skin, which makes it puff up and heat, therefore being what everyone refers to as sunburn." She rambled to Neville, who looked quite fascinated, yet intrigued at this new piece of information.

Harry wanted badly to touch Ginny. There was just something about the way that her flaming red hair glowing in the sun, or the way her eyes sparkled when she talked to him that just made her irresistible to him. He knew any physical contact around Ron would be too risky. Way too risky. He could touch her hand, yes, but he had the strong urge to kiss her, to hold her.

"Harry, will you help me with this?" she turned toward him, holding out a bottle of sunscreen and she held her hair up with the other hand.

"Sure, yeah, no problem." He said, taking the bottle from her and squirting some into the palm of his hand. He rubbed his hands together and began applying the lotion to her back, rubbing her shoulders.

She closed her eyes out of the pleasure of having him rub her back, and felt him relieve the tension in her muscles. He massaged her back gently, and she giggled as he occasionally hit that one spot on her back where she was ticklish and made her laugh.

Once he had applied the last of the lotion to every square inch to her back, he patted her back. "All done!" he said, rubbing what was left on his hands onto his arms. She turned around, smiling, and then got up off her towel.

"Well, I'm going to the bathroom, just so you all know." She said, directed towards Harry, and winking at him and nodding her head in the direction of the docks, which stood about fifty feet away. She got up and began walking, casually brushing the side of her leg against his as she walked past him and into the direction of the docks.

After about a minute and a half, a jittering Harry couldn't sit still any longer, so he himself got up and walked to the docks, hoping to go unnoticed. Just when he thought he'd slipped away, he heard a voice.

"Harry? Where are you going?" Ron called to him from playing in the sand with Hermione. They were building a sandcastle, which was a way for Hermione to show him how muggles enjoy the beach, and a way to have a little but more fun.

"Oh! Um… the- er- bathroom! That's right, I'm going to the bathroom!" he said, relieved that he'd found a legitimate excuse.

"Ok…have fun…" Ron said, eyeing him suspiciously, but then ignoring his train of thought when Hermione hit him with a small clump of sand. "Hey!" he said, and she smiled sweetly at him, as he threw one back at her.

They proceeded in their sand fight when Harry really did slip away, taking the time to notice they were too engrossed in themselves to pay any attention to him. Maybe Ginny was right. Maybe they were together. _Damn. _He thought. _There's ten galleons I'll never see again._ And he sprinted to the docks, just in time to catch a glimpse of red hair beneath the shadows of those docks.

"I thought you'd never get here." Ginny said, smiling up at him as he came closer to her.

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Meanwhile, back at the towels, Ron and Hermione were completing the final tower and curette of their castle. At last, Ron finished with the shell windows and Hermione had filled in their little moat, and they stepped back to admire their work. Ron clapped the sand off his hand.

"I'd say we did alright." He said, taking in every angle of the castle they had built, which was sculpted to look like Hogwarts, but being them, they had rounded several corners and the model wasn't exactly built to scale. But it was a product of their cooperation and teamwork, which, anyone knew, meant more than all the galleons in the world.

"It's a little rough around the edges, but then again, so are you." She said playfully, and he playfully pushed her a little bit, and she laughed. He gave her one of his famous lopsided grins and she couldn't contain herself anymore.

"Wanna go somewhere else?" she said, inquiring something flirtatiously.

"You read my mind." He said, whispering down in her ear.

"Good, then follow me. I know a great place. It's cool, it's private, and it's all ours." She said, casually dropping hints that he was beginning to understand.

"Take me anywhere."

"Hey guys? We're going to go grab some snacks. We'll be back in a bit, okay?" she called over to the four people sunbathing on the towels, and pulled a tank top and a pair of shorts on over her suit, while Ron put a shirt on, as well.

"Sure, Hermione. Now can you get out of my sun?" Hannah said groggily, her eyes never opening.

With that, Hermione grabbed Ron by the hand and ran them off somewhere up the beach. She knew where she wanted to go, she knew she was going there, but he had no clue. And the excitement of it all was pulsing through his veins, so that she could hear his heart speed up with every step they took, inching them even closer to greatness.

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"I thought you'd never get here." Ginny said, smiling up at him as he inched closer, now within her reach.

"I couldn't wait for a second without you. I came as soon as I could." He said, smiling apologetically.

"I'm glad you came."

"So am I. You have no idea."

"Mind if we skip the chatter for now?"

"What are you inquiring, Ginerva Weasley?" he raised an eyebrow at her.

"You know very well, Harry Potter. Now shut up and kiss me."

"Your wish is my command." He said, and with one last laugh from each of them and a lasting smile from Harry, he kissed her, full and hard. She kissed him back deeply, and before she knew it, they were making out, passionately. Making out under the docks. Ha, if only life were that simple.

To Ginny, kissing Harry was like a new adventure. An adventure she explored, with nothing but excitement and anticipation. He was passionate and very focused, and she could definitely get used to this. She was really into him, and from what she felt, he was into her, too.

Each time he kissed her, he was deep and lasting, and every time she kissed him back, she tried to be just as passionate, showing him how much he really meant to her.

He kissed her yet again, then broke away, breathing deeply.

"Wow." Was all that managed to escape her lips as they stood, leaning on the other's forehead, and regaining their breath.

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"Hey, anyone feel like having some fun?" Seamus asked his little group, lifting his sunglasses off the rim of his nose and pushing them onto the top of his head.

"Why is that it feels that every time that you want to do something fun, there's always a catch." Luna asked, lifting her eyes from the crossword puzzle in the back of the Quibbler.

"What catch? There's no catch, not this time anyways. I swear." He said, holding up his signs to show that none of them were crossed.

"Ok, I could use some fun. What do you suggest?" Hannah asked him, lifting herself onto her elbows and turning to face everyone.

"Just a simple, safe game of Dare." He said, playing a smile.

"Ok, give me your best." She said confidently.

"Sorry, Lass, but I think Neville should go first." He said, rounding on Neville now.

"Me? Why me?" he croaked, his voice cracking slightly.

"Because, fellow Gryffindor, no one would expect you to follow through with a Dare." He said, simply, his smile growing wider.

"Fine. I'll show you. What've ya got?" He said, getting up.

"Ok. Kiss Luna." He said, his smile almost extending off of his face.

"What?!" he said, his voice really high.

"What?!" Luna said, too, really taken aback.

"Hey, a dare's a dare. Unless, of course, you don't want to…" He said, winking at them.

Then Neville kissed Luna, and he kissed her gently and tenderly, right on the mouth. He held it for a few seconds, showing just how brave he could be, and was really shocked when he felt her kiss him back, showing strong emotion and respect. After what felt like eternity, they broke apart, staring into each other's eyes, and smiling mercilessly.

"Neville, you stud! I had no idea you had it in you!" Seamus said, going over to Neville and patting him on the back and Neville blushed, touching his lips with his fingertips, feeling the remnants of her kiss linger on his lips.

"Well, neither did I, but now it's your turn." He said, it being his turn to smile.

"I'll take anything you throw at me!" He said, puffing out his chest.

"Kiss Hannah." He said, putting his arm around Luna.

"Can I just say something first?" he said, going to Hannah.

"Sure, it's your dare. Just as long as you get is done while we're all young." And he hugged Luna close to him.

"Okay." And he rounded to Hannah, looking her square in the eyes, "Hannah, I really like you. I really, really like you. Now I won't kiss you unless I know we have some kind of future together, because it would hurt me too much to have a wonderful moment with you and then go through the heartbreak of not having you after that. So, Hannah Abbott, will you go out with me?" he said in one breath, not breaking the eye contact and noticing her eyes beginning to mist up slightly.

She nodded and he smiled a smile to big for words, and kissed her, compassionately and caring. She kissed back, naturally, and they broke apart after a second, as to not ruin the moment, smiling huge, and blushing shades that matched Neville and Luna.

"Oh, that reminds me. Luna, I really, really, really, really like you, too. You really have no idea how crazy I am about you. Will you be my girlfriend?" He asked hopefully.

"Of course!" she said, leaping into his arms and kissing him lightly on the lips, and hugging him all the while. He smiled, and Neville Longbottom got his first real girlfriend.

* * *

"Mione, where are you taking us?" Ron called to her, as she continued to take him further up the beach, farther and farther from the ocean, almost as if they were headed to… "The hotel?" he said, his voice full of excitement.

She winked at him and said, "Maybe…" and he continued to follow her into the hotel, through the lobby, and into the elevator, where they held their breath as it opened at the second floor.

They piled out of the elevator and Hermione checked the landing before getting out the elevator with Ron. Crystal clear. They made their way down to room #230 and Hermione got out her key, slowly. She opened the door, and before she could do or say anything else, Ron had his lips pressed firmly against hers.

She kicked the door closed with her foot, and kissed him back, very hard. Then, he put one hand behind her head and the other on her waist, and pressed her against the nearest wall, making out with her hungrily.

She made out with him back and wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling his face even closer to the warmth of her body.

Ron was caught up in pure pleasure, and only kissed her harder. He had wanted to do this for so long, and now that he was living it, it was much better than any dream he had ever had. This was… heaven.

It was better than all his quidditch matches and his becoming a prefect. It was sweeter than anything they sold at Honeyduke's, and deeper than the very middle of the Hogwarts lake. It made him happier than he had on any Christmas morning, and it made him feel more mature than on he had in all his sixteen years of living. Yet, it was scarier than any adventure because it could disappear as quickly as it started. It was, indescribable, in most ways, because it was reality. Sweet reality.

Hermione moaned softly against his mouth enjoyably and pulled him even closer to her, taking in every inch of his mouth and feeling his tongue enter the likes of her mouth and feel its way around. She took it, more than willingly and just kissed him back very passionately.

If she had known her best friend could kiss like this and give her what could only be the best moments of her life, she would have told him sooner. It was better than her first book. It was two best friends, who had known each other a large majority of their lives, and had become even closer the previous night, kissing each other, like the world would end if they stopped. To Hermione, it was beyond perfection.

Ron gently moved his hand and slid her out from the wall, and held onto her tight as he gently moved her away from the wall and towards the center of the room, kissing her still.

Hermione gave a short, very abrupt, and soft scream as she fell backwards onto the bed, taking him with her, and still kissing him. They bounced softly, and broke apart for a mere millisecond, before resuming what they were doing before.

Ron's hands toyed with the end of her shirt, and he slid his hands up the back of it, the thin fabric over his hands and her bare skin beneath his fingertips. He roamed his hands all over her back and took in her every crevice, her very shape. He still kissed her, getting even more, if that was humanly possible, possible with every kiss he placed on her lips.

She ran her hands through his hair, messing it up even more slightly, and wrapping it around her fingers. She kissed him back harder as her hands moved down, passed his neck and down his back, where they stood, examining on his muscles.

Ron broke away from their passionate kissing to kiss her neck tenderly, while Hermione just took it all in, and took the moment to regain her breath, but she didn't have long, because he met his lips against hers once more, deeper still.

She smiled against his lips and kissed him back, until…

"Miss Granger, are you in there?" It was McGonagall.

They stopped dead in their tracks and both their faces paled deeply. Ron's eyes showed that like he had just been told that quidditch was cancelled for good, and Hermione's showed mortal fear. She did the first thing she could, and she and Ron got up quickly and quietly, looking for an escape.

She spotted the closet and her eyes widened and he followed her eyes and knew what she meant and he ran into the closet, and very carefully, shut the door behind him, leaving both of them breathing heavily out of slight relief. But it was yet to be determined.

Hermione straightened her hair and opened the door, smiling at the face of Professor Minerva McGonagall.

"Hello, Professor." She said, trying to sound as innocent as possible.

"Hello Miss Granger." McGonagall said, and looked around her room suspiciously.

"Can I ask why you're here, Professor?" Hermione asked, uncertain and hiding the fright in her voice.

"Mr. Malfoy just informed me that he thought he saw you sneaking up here with a visitor. A male visitor." She said, and stared Hermione down, making the fear inside of her only build up more. She thought quickly.

"Well, Ginny came up with me, because she needed to retrieve her sunglasses, and I wanted to stay out of the sun for a little bit because I was beginning to get a little sunburned. Ginny headed back down to get back to the festivities, and I just stayed up here, watching muggle television." She lied, praying in her mind that she bought it.

"But your television is not on." McGonagall said, and looked around the room again, slowly.

"I turned it off right before I answered the door. I thought it rude to leave a television on when someone was at your door." She said, and hoed this was the end of the interrogation.

"But Miss Weasley is not a _male _visitor."

"I think Mr. Malfoy needs his eyes checked, then, because it was only me and Ginny." Hermione praised her quick mind. Ron smiled to himself from inside the closet, able to hear every word.

"Well then, being a Prefect, I do believe you. Your story checks out quite nicely. Please excuse me for interrupting your activities." She said, and left.

"Thank you, Professor." Hermione smiled and breathed a huge sigh of relief, and she watched to make sure that she went out the door and into the elevator before closing the door and opening the closet door for Ron.

"That was close." He said, and looked down at her, "I thought she had us."

"So did I." She smiled up at him and hugged him, and he hugged back.

"I suppose we should head back down to the festivities at the beach. We don't want any more suspicions." She said, and looked him in his eyes.

"Yes, I suppose we should." He said, and exhaled, disappointed.

"Thanks, Love." She said, and he smiled down at her.

"No problem, Love." He said, and now she smiled at him.

"I love how that sounds." She said, and leaned her head dreamily against his chest.

"Me too." He said, kissed the top of her head. Then he took another deep breath and sighed, "You go down first, I'll come down in a couple minutes. No suspicions, remember?"

"Okay. Count to—200 and then come down. That should be enough time. I'll meet you at the bottom of the steps that lead to the beach."

"It works. Then we'll head back to the towels, because we said we were leaving together."

"Okay. I'll see you in a few minutes, Love."

"I'll think of you till then, Love." He kissed her gently, and she kissed him back, then left her room, her heart racing with every thought about him and what they had been on their way to doing. It was too soon. They couldn't do _that _yet. Yet? There was too much on her mind right now, but Ron occupied all of it and that kept her happy.

Ron sat on the edge of the bed and counted, "1…2…3…" he counted, and thought of Hermione, and smiled to himself. His mind drifted to her, and he daydreamt until he heard his mouth finish, "198...199…200!"

He sprang from the bed and looked around to see that everything was just as Hermione had left it. Perfect. He walked out the door, and shut it behind him. He walked quietly down the hall and into the elevator, onto the landing, past the great lobby, and out the glass doors to the outside, where he saw a bushy-haired brunette waiting patiently at the foot of the steps.

* * *

"I love the way you kiss." Ginny breathed, her forehead pressed against his.

"I love the way you kiss more." Harry playfully argued, and smiled, his eyes shut.

"Let's head back. The others will start getting worried if they see we've been gone for a bathroom break for-" She opened her eyes and moved her watch into the light, "-25 minutes!"

"That long?!" Harry asked, in disbelief, and she nodded. "Yeah, I saw we should go. I want to stay though."

"I do, too, Harry, I do, too." She said, "But we can't."

"I know, I know." And he kissed her forehead, before they pulled their heads away, and walked away, Harry with an arm draped over her shoulders.

* * *

"Long time, no see." Hermione said as she looked around and saw the love of her life striding towards her.

"Too long." He said, and hugged her, before taking her hand in his, interlacing their fingers, and walking them in the direction towards the towels.

* * *

Harry and Ginny came within distance of the towels and Harry dropped his arm off of her, and they both walked independently to where everyone else was.

But to their surprise, Ron and Hermione were missing, and Seamus leaned over to kiss Hannah, who kissed him back and Luna was being cradled against Neville's body, staring off into space even more dreamily than she had before.

"Did we miss something?" Hermione asked as they approached the area, still holding hands with Ron.

"I don't know. You tell us." Harry said, looking at the couple and noticing their interlaced fingers.

"I was referring to the couples who appear to be into something that we don't know about and who look as if they've been kissing." She said, and caused everyone on the towels to break away from their trance and look up at her.

"You- er- back with those snacks, Ron?" Seamus asked, eyeing him suspiciously.

"They were out." Ron said uneasily, and looked down at the sand. Seamus sniggered.

Hermione mentally kicked herself for not covering herself up by getting snacks. Then her mind came to a thought, "Had a nice, _long _bathroom break, did you?" she asked, raising an eyebrow at Harry and Ginny.

"That's really very personal business." Ginny said, referring to the bathroom, although also, to herself, to making out with Harry.

"Okay, Gin, you tell me when you're ready." Hermione said, and winked knowingly at her.

Ginny blushed and Harry seemed very, very uneasy. Hermione laughed and everyone looked questioningly at her.

"Are we all ready? It's getting dark; we should head back into the hotel." Ginny cleared her throat and changed the subject.

Hermione, saving her, agreed. "Yes, Let's." She said, and, not taking her hand from Ron's, gathered up their belongings as everyone else got their's, and the four couples headed up to the beach, everyone holding another's hand.

With eight singles, now four couples, things are getting hot. And that's not just the beach weather. With a night in and everyone being roommates, secrets will surely be revealed and many stories will be shared. This day could probably top all of their lives, and it would surely be remembered by all, forever. Ahh, the young and humble game of Love.

* * *

**A/N: Finis! With the chapter, anyways. I worked all night to get this chapter done for all you guys, so I really hope you enjoyed it! Please, review, and let me know what you thought about it. I might have gone a little crazy with Ron and Hermione's major make-out session, but I was just trying to emphasize the point of how strong they really felt for each other. As mentioned, nothing like this ever happened on my trip, so don't think I almost did that.  Anyways, yes, please review again! **

**And also thanks to everyone who read my other fic "Baby, It's Cold Outside." In the meantime of this one. It means a lot to me to have people enjoy my fics. I also hope everyone had a Happy New Year and Happy Holidays!**


	10. Later That Night

**Disclaimer: Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. **

**Author's Notes: Thanks to all my fantastic reviewers! 76! Wow. I'm pleased, really, really pleased. Thanks you guys- you're just the best! This chapter, much like the latest chapter of my other fic, is all about confessions, and a little cameo on guys vs. girls. I got the cameo idea from the episode of "Friends" called The One with the List, where the three guys and girls are discussing Ross and Rachel's first kiss. I love that show! So, here's the next chapter, please enjoy! Oh, and I also highly recommend "All I Know" by StarGirl7, which is an excellent Ron/Hermione fic. I adore that story! Anyways, on with mine!

* * *

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Chapter 10: Later That Night

A few hours had passed since the dilemma on the beach, and now it was well into nighttime. The moon was high and there was an ominous chill to the air that sent shivers down everyone's spines. The stars weren't all that visible, as overcast clouds seemed to block them out slightly, and the wind was whistling softly, tickling everyone's bare shoulders.

They had all, excluding Ron and Hermione, spent the night flirting obviously and just being smitten with one another. The couple wished they could do that, but after what they had nearly done before, they thought it best to keep a safe distance, at least for the rest of the day. It was the spirit of the beach that overtook them that afternoon, and it might not be discussed by anyone after that. They knew in the back of their minds that neither would have gone through with it, because they were both so young and had the consequences to look to. But still, they at least wanted to tell their closest friends they were in love.

Now, back from a midnight dip in the ocean, everyone proceeded back up to their separate rooms to crash for the night. Their toes squished beneath the wet sand and the gentle rain massaged the top of their heads.

They all sprang, clothes and belongings in hand, back up to the hotel, and to their respective floors.

"Goodnight, my Luna." Neville said sweetly, and kissed her gently goodnight. She, in turn, kissed him back, and then planted a sweet little kiss on his cheek.

"Goodnight." And Neville ascended the stairs to his floor as Seamus kissed Hannah as well, and Harry, not telling Ron anything yet, just gave his new girlfriend a little hug and Ron, well, he tried his hardest not to kiss Hermione, and left with, what appeared as a "platonic" hug. After his roommates had gone above and were out of earshot and the rest of the girls were well down the hall, Hermione reached for Ron around the neck and pulled his head down to hers.

"I'll tell them tonight. I can't keep this a secret any longer." She whispered into his ear and she felt him nod.

"I'll do the same- with the guys, that is." And she nodded and sighed against his neck.

"Call you in the morning?" She asked him, and released his neck and allowed him to stand up.

"You better." He said, and gave her his famous lop-sided grin before he looked back. "Goodnight, 'Mione."

"Goodnight, Ron." She said, and kissed his cheek quickly, in case someone saw.

Instantly, he put his right hand up to where she had just kissed, and held it there, as if holding it there until he saw her again. He didn't want to forget her kiss. And he went back up the stairs, and Hermione walked down the hall to her room.

* * *

"What took you so long?" Hannah asked upon her arrival.

"I just had something to discuss with Ron. We- erm- had a row before and I wanted to straighten things out before we went to bed. You know me; I don't like to go to bed with anyone mad at me." She thought quickly, and finished lamely.

Ginny raised an eyebrow at her and Hermione gave her a pleading look. Ginny, more confused than ever, shrugged at her. Then it clicked. She nodded, smiling of course, and helped her out.

"Yeah, Harry and I heard her and Ron at it when we were coming back from the bathroom. They were really, really arguing this time." Ginny said, and Hermione smiled thankfully.

She mouthed the words "thank you" and Ginny winked at her, and flashed her a you-better-spill-everything-later smile.

"Okay," Ginny started, "I came back to the blankets to see four people in very different places than when I left. Spill it girls." And Hannah and Luna blushed.

"I think I'll start," Came a voice, but it was neither Hannah nor Luna. All three girls turned their heads to see a guilty-looking Hermione smiling weakly at them.

* * *

Ron came back to his room to see Seamus and Neville interrogating Harry. He hoped to enter unnoticed, seeing as it took him quite a few minutes to get back to the room after them. However, his idea faltered.

"It's about time you got here, Weasley. We wondered where you went." Seamus said, looking back at him from questioning Harry.

"I stopped at the muggle snack machine down the hall." He said, thinking of the first thing that came to mind.

"But you don't have anything." Neville pointed out.

"Oh, the bloody machine ate my money." He said, rubbing the back of his neck with his left hand.

"What do you expect? Muggle machines don't take sickles, Ron." Seamus said, and Ron shrugged. Seamus turned back to Harry.

"It was nothing, I swear." He said, sweating slightly at the thought of his best mate pounding him to a pulp if he ever found out what went on between himself and Ron's little sister.

"Whatever you say." Neville said.

"Hey now, what about you and Luna, Neville? And how's Hannah, Seamus?" Harry asked, a mischievous glint evident in his eyes.

"Er- about that…" Seamus started, unsure of how to explain himself, until someone else cut in.

"I kissed Hermione." Ron interjected, keeping his word to Hermione by telling the guys, and everyone rounded on him slowly, while he just blushed deeply.

------

"No…way." Luna breathed, and Hermione nodded. Instantly, the four friends burst into huge smiles and began giggling.

"That's It. Girl talk. Right here, Right now. An all truth session, because I know all of us has something to tell." Hannah said, and cast a look towards Ginny, indicating that she had noticed her and Harry.

"I'll get the diet coke!" Luna said, and ran off to the fridge, pulling out several cans of soda for them all to drink.

"And I'll disconnect the phone line! We cannot be interrupted!" Ginny said, and sprang off her bed and tore the phone cord from the wall.

"That leaves me with the candy and snacks." Hannah said, and went into the other room in fetch of something sweet and delicious.

"And me with figuring out the most plausible way to explain everything." Hermione said, and hugged a pillow to her chest.

Her roommates came back seconds later, carrying soda and snacks. Luna passed everyone a can and put the rest on the end table, while Hannah spilled out bags of all sorts onto the bed in front of them. Everyone meeting on Hermione and Ginny's bed, they all sat cross-legged and dove into the candy Hannah had brought over.

"Hermione, looks like you're first." Luna said, biting onto a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean.

Hermione took a deep breath, and then exhaled, a smile on her lips. "It started a last night-"

"Last night?! And you haven't told us?!" Ginny interrupted.

"I'm getting there." Hermione assured her, and then continued, "Anyways, it was a couple nights ago, the night of the Luau, to be exact. I had stormed off after Ginny mislead me into going to the whole shindig, and I guess Ron followed me. I sat down in the sand and just kind of stayed there, and then I saw his towering figure over me in the light. He apologized for the fight from that morning, and I apologized for everything I had said to him. Because, I tell you, I was feeling awful about it."

The received sympathetic smiles from all three, and then took another deep breath, smiling even wider remembering it all, and continued on.

"So we made up, and we were friends again. Everything was good. Same as always. Until he told me the reason for his rage: Jealousy."

"I knew it!" Ginny gasped, and she hugged a pillow to her chest, anxious to hear more.

"I couldn't believe what he had said. I mean, I speculated him to be jealous, but he's Ron. He's always been protective, you know?" Hermione asked her friends, to no one in particular, but Ginny gave a small cough, acknowledging that she knew very well what protectiveness to which Hermione was referring. Everyone laughed a little bit, and Hermione continued still.

"So, I asked him about it. I mean, what was there to get jealous over anyways? I mean, he was jealous of _Malfoy._ And I could see him blushing, and he sort of, mumbled something. And then he looked down and, I remember this part vividly, 'Because he and Vicky have gotten everything I've wanted since I was thirteen.' he said to me, and I was confused, so I questioned him further, asking what on earth that was. and he replied, 'You.'" Hannah, Luna, and Ginny all sighed happily and let out a chorus of _Awww's._ Hermione turned a light shade of pink.

"Then me, being the questioning girl that I am, asked him if he liked me. And he said that he really did, and then looked away from me again, afraid I might turn him down, or something ridiculous like that." Hermione rolled her eyes at the memory and the thought that he might think that.

Ginny rolled her eyes too, "The daft prat." She muttered, and everyone laughed.

"Then I admitted to everything I've ever known. I told him how much I liked him and how much he meant to me, and that I was being sincere in everything I said. Then he hugged me, and we stayed that way for quite a few minutes, taking in all of this new information. We just sat there, in the sand, quiet, and it was nice." Hermione said, and the rest of them looked rather disappointed.

"And then," Hermione started, and they perked up, their ears all attentive to whatever she was about to divulge to them, "we broke apart from the hug, and I was just starting to roll over to sit next to him, and he took my hand and brought me back to him, and he kissed me." She said, and blushed furiously.

The girls shrieked and jumped up and down in their seats, shrieking wildly. They were all laughing loudly now.

"And?" Luna asked her.

"Yeah?"

"You can't leave out any details. Share!" Hermione laughed lightly.

"Okay, Okay. Gin, are you sure you want to hear the details of how your brother kisses?" Hermione looked at her boyfriend's younger sister.

"Herm, this is your time. I'll erase all bad thoughts about my brother later. This is girl talk, after all. You can't leave anything out." The red-headed female smiled and presumed to hug the pillow.

"Okay. In all honesty-" The girls hung on to her every word, "It was the best thing I've ever experienced in my life. It started off soft and quick, and at first I didn't realize it. But once it all sunk in, I kissed him back, and he gradually made it deeper. It was just deep and it was better than anything I had ever imagined. He put his arms on my waist and moved them to my back, and I ran my fingers through his hair, then put my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me."

Luna stared off dreamily, and Ginny and Hannah were very, very excited to hear all this, despite the fact that Hermione was referring to Ginny's brother, after all. Luna took a big handful of popcorn, and shoved it into her mouth, dropping a little on the bed below her.

"Then it ended, and we just stared into each other's eyes, " Hermione was speaking in a rather dreamy tone, "and he looked me straight in mine, smiled his famous smile, and said 'I love you'"

Everyone squealed and leaned closer to hear her better.

"And you said?" Ginny said, her eyes wide with excitement, slowly chewing on the Jelly Slug in her mouth.

"'I love you, too' of course. And then he asked me to be his girlfriend, and I said that nothing could ever be better. And we kissed again, softly, and sweetly, and broke away, completely happy." Hermione dazed off dreamily, and had to be woken from her reverie.

"That is the sweetest story I've ever heard in my life." Hannah said, and Hermione blushed.

"I'm quite pleased with him." She said, and the smile never left her face. Everyone leaned forward in a friendly embrace, and all whispered words of congratulations to Hermione.

"You two are perfect for each other," Ginny said, "I think I see a future sister-in-law before my eyes." Hermione blushed and Ginny winked at her.

"It's a little early to be thinking about that." She said, though in the back of her mind figured that if they ever got together, it would last forever.

"I'm so glad you two finally figured everything out. You two deserve each other." Hannah said, and Hermione smiled still. She was so lucky to have such supporting friends.

They parted, and Hermione cleared her throat, prepared to tell them the next bit of information she had in store for them, unsure how they would take this.

"There's something else, too." She said, and they all looked at her, unsure of what more she had to say. "We didn't actually leave for snacks before."

"Well, that's certainly obvious now." Luna said, and snorted lightly.

"We, kind of, made our way up here. And made out, and I mean, _really _made out. Tongues crashing, passionate kissing, the whole nine yards." She said, and blushed deeper than ever.

"Wait—you two didn't…?" Ginny started, scared for the answer.

"No. NO!" Hermione said, saving her good name. All three girls let out a huge sigh of relief. "It wouldn't have happened anyways. It was way, _way _too early for _that_. And besides, McGonagall nearly caught us."

Everyone's eyes became as wide as tea saucers.

"Oh my God." Luna breathed.

"I shoved Ron in the closet and she said she heard from Malfoy that I came to the hotel with a guy. But I told her that Malfoy saw wrong and that it was Ginny getting her sunglasses, but that she went back down to the beach and I watched TV. Except my TV wasn't on, and McGonagall took note of it and I said I turned it off right before she came in. And she bought it. Right after she left, I let Ron out of the closet and we came back down to the beach." Hermione finished.

"Well, you had quite the afternoon." Ginny said, and closed her once open mouth.

"Seems I wasn't the only one." And Hermione winked to the rest of the three.

"Well, you know something happened with both of us and certain Gryffindor guys," Hannah said, referring to herself and Luna, "But I think Miss Ginerva Weasley might have a little something to share as well."

Everyone turned their heads in Ginny's direction and she looked away from them, whistling innocently.

* * *

Everyone turned to look at Ron, expecting an explanation.

"Hang on a second," Harry said, and picked up the phone and dialed a number. "Yes, Is this South Shore Pizza? Yeah, we need two large cheese pizzas sent to room #419 at the South Shore Resort and Hotel. 8 Galleons? You got it! Thanks." And he hung up.

"Okay, I figured with as much as everyone's sharing, we'll need food." Harry said, and 10 minutes later the pizza arrived at the door. Harry paid and tipped the delivery guy and brought the pizzas inside, set them on the table, and dove into a slice. The others repeated his action, with the pizza.

"Okay, now that the long, awkward silence is over, Ron, share what you got." Harry said, his mouth half full.

"I apologized. So did she. I told her I liked her. She said she liked me. And then I kissed her." Ron said simply, blushing.

"Tongue?" Seamus asked, biting into a slice of his own.

"Not that time, no." Ron said, and took a Coca Cola from the fridge, "But yeah, anyways, we broke apart. I told her I loved her. She said she loved me. I ask her to be my girlfriend. She says yes. And now we're together." And he popped the can open and took a long sip.

"Cool." Neville said, biting a piece of the crust of his slice.

"That's awesome, Mate. I'm really happy for you." Harry said, smiling genuinely at Ron, and wiping soda off the top of his lip with the back of his hand.

"This isn't awkward for you?" Ron asked, making sure.

"Nah, you kidding? It's a relief is what it is." And he and Ron laughed.

"Thanks, mate."

"Anytime."

"So you said, 'no, not that time'. Are you implying that you two have been together since then?" Seamus asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Maybe." Ron said, not wishing to share anymore than these guys needed to know. "Look, I'm not comfortable sharing it with you guys. All you need to know is today when we went for snacks, we didn't end up going for snacks. We came up to the hotel."

All three guys shot their heads up at these words, and Harry's mouth hung open slightly.

"Relax, nothing happened." Ron reassured them, and they all closed their mouths around their foods."We made out a lot, tongue was used there. McGonagall nearly caught us before it went too far. But I don't want to go that far yet. It's too soon. Way too soon."

The rest of them shrugged and took large gulps of soda (which were already out by the time the pizza got there) at the same time. Then let out refreshing _Ahh's_.

"So Harry, what really went on with you and Ginny?" Neville asked him, and Ron jerked his head towards Harry, looking at him through narrowed eyes. Harry smiled lightly.

"Hey there, Ron." He said, as if just acknowledging Ron's presence and Ron didn't soften his gaze, but merely stared him down, trying to be intimidating. And, from Harry's perspective, it was working.

* * *

"Ginny, share. Because we all know there's something going on." Hermione said, relieved to have her part over and done with. She was now becoming one of the excited ones.

"Fine, fine. I might have been holding a little something back from you guys." She took a breath, closed her eyes, and let it all out, while Hermione popped open her diet coke.

"It was this morning. So I haven't been hiding it for too long," Ginny started, "I'd gotten up out of bed, unable to fall asleep from thinking about certain people I was crazy about. cough Harry cough. So I got up, got in my suit, went down to the pool and swam for a little bit. Then, Harry showed up. I couldn't believe it. It was as if everything in my dreams had woken into my reality. WE were discussing Ron and Hermione actually, and what had happened the night before." Hermione opened her eyes wide with shock.

"So, we got to talking, and actually took bets on whether you two were together or not. So he said he wanted to ask me a question, except he didn't. Instead he kissed me." Ginny said, touching a finger to her lips, as if feeling where his lips were on hers.

Hannah and Luna leaned forward excitedly. After all, there were very, very few people you could talk to who could tell you how the Boy-who-lived kisses. Hermione, always of thinking of Harry as a brother, wasn't quite as eager, worried she might never look at him the same way again. But, as Ginny did listening to her talk about Ron, she put up with it.

"To describe how he kisses? I can't pinpoint it exactly. But if you guys want the dirt… he's sweet, but very passionate. He slid his tongue into my mouth, and it just felt right. I think this is honestly something that could last awhile." Ginny smiled, an almost misty look in her eyes.

Everyone _Aww'ed_ again, smiles on their faces, each reminded of their own story that they had to tell.

"Then he asked me to go out with him, and naturally, I said yes, and we've been together since. We snuck away this afternoon, not going to the bathroom, but underneath the docks. And… we made out." Ginny said, blushing a deep red.

"Making out by the docks…" Luna said, in a dreamy tone, "just like from that muggle movie _Grease._"

"Luna, I had no idea you watched muggle movies." Said Hermione, taking a bite off a pretzel.

"When you're raised by all wizards, you learn to branch towards different customs." She said, shrugging.

"Anyways, that's when we went back to you guys." Ginny finished, and everyone, attention back on her, hugged her, too, and Ginny smiled.

"Ron and Hermione, Ginny and Harry…" Hannah said, and was about to add her own name with Seamus to the list.

"…Hannah and Seamus…" Ginny continued for her, and cast her a glance, in which Hannah began to blush.

"My turn, is it?" Hannah said nervously, and the others nodded. "Okay, I guess I'll start with the background information that you guys might not have picked up on. Or maybe you have, I really don't know how obvious I made it-"

"Han, you're rambling." Hermione said, reminding herself of when she had said it to Ron when he was trying to get out his feelings towards her.

She blushed light pink. "Sorry," She mumbled, and then continued, in a more dignified tone, "You all know how Ernie and I went out for a couple months. Well, we were pretty serious. He and I had also come close to what you and Ron nearly did, Herm. Anyways, I thought he was the one for me. But one day, I woke up and realized that he wasn't the man I deserved. He was always so focused on other things besides me and with his prefect duties, I rarely ever saw him. We both understood, and broke up, just a couple days shy of what would have been out 6-month anniversary."

Everyone let out sympathetic _"Aww's" _And everyone put a hand to her back, as if their touch would take all the pain from her memory away.

"I'm fine, guys, really." She said to them, and they took their hands off her backs, allowing her to continue, "It was about a month after that that I saw Seamus. I had began talking to him one day after Herbology, and he and I really hit it off. We had a lot in common, and he seemed really into me. He and I began pairing as partners, and meeting up in Hogsmeade, first as friends.

"He was a really interesting guy and we had a lot of fun together. That's when I began having more-than-platonic feelings toward him. It was different, almost as if he knew them, too. I only began to feel for him harder and harder each time I saw him. Than, finally, Neville dared Seamus to kiss me, and he did. It was more real then ever kissing Ernie. I loved every second of it.

"But I was still scared that it was only a kiss for the Dare and that it might harm what we had. But I kissed him back anyways, letting him know that if there was meaning behind it, that I felt it, too. Then he told me he liked me, asked me to go out, I said yes, we kissed again, and that's when you guys showed up." Hannah concluded, pointing to Ginny and Hermione.

Being girls, they hugged again, and another huge grin was on Hannah's face, matching Hermione and Ginny's. They all congratulated her and wished her the best, and the three of them rounded on Luna, who, as always, was looking away in a dreamy gaze.

* * *

"Hey there, Ron." Harry said, looking timidly at his best mate.

"You better have a bloody good explanation, or I'll call in recruits and beat your bloody ass to a pulp." Ron said, looking at him threateningly.

"Let's say, hypothetically, that I really, really, honest-to-god, crazy about her. And that I kissed her, a little bit." Harry said, appearing very inferior under Ron's towering gaze.

"Hypothetically?" Ron said, raising an eyebrow, "I would be mad you didn't clear everything with me first, and then call Fred and George, who would help me beat you up if you ever her out baby sister."

Harry gulped. "Ron, I need to tell you something, and save the beating until after I'm done."

Ron stepped back a second. "Okay…"

"Keep in mind how crazy you are about Hermione and how much you love Ginny and how mad they would be at you if you hurt me bad." Harry said, and Ron smiled at the thought of Hermione, "I kissed Ginny. And I asked her out. She said yes, so now we're together."

Ron gritted his teeth, not wanting to imagine them together. "But before you say anything, hear me out. I really, really, really, really like her. Okay? There, I said it. I'm crazy about her. I've never felt this strong for anyone in my life, and I have really strong hopes for out future together. I know what you're going to ask me, and I swear on my own life that I'd never hurt her and that I'd never put her in danger. I promise."

Seamus and Neville sniggered slightly, but still smiled at Harry. He was trying so hard to win over Ron so that he could see Ginny, without any unsightly bruises.

Ron's gaze softened, "You really promise?"

"Yes, Ron, you know me. I would never hurt her. I care about her too much to ever do that."

Ron clapped him on the back and pulled him into a one-armed, platonic, hug, and Harry was taken aback, but hugged him anyways.

"She deserves you. You deserve her. Congratulations, Mate." Ron said, and smiled.

"Thanks. I'm so, unbelievably happy you're cool with this." Harry said.

"Ahh well, It's about time you're truly happy for once. But, just so you know, if you ever do hurt her, you'll be answering to her six stronger, older brothers." Ron said, and gave him one more threatening glare, meaning all business.

"Okay, Okay." Harry said, raising his hands in the air in defeat. Ron smiled yet again.

"Now," He said, releasing Harry from the interrogation, "You two guys were in much different states than when we left."

"Um, yeah." Seamus said, "I liked Hannah for awhile, Neville dared me to kiss her, I did. She kissed me back. I told her I liked her. She said the same thing back to me. I asked her out. She said yes. Boom! Now we're together."

"Congratulations." They all mumbled to him, and he smiled, biting into another slice of pizza.

"That only leaves…" Harry started, and Ron and Seamus joined in.

"Neville." They all said at once, and turned to look at him. He froze for a second, his mouth closed on his pizza. His eyes widened, almost as if he didn't know what to say.

* * *

"Huh? Me?" Luna asked, breaking herself away from her reverie.

"Yes, you. We've all shared out tales, and now it's your turn. So spill you soul." Hannah said, and then burped lightly from her soda. Everyone giggled and Hannah turned pink.

"Oops, excuse me." She said quietly, and she laughed at herself, along with everyone else.

"Luna? We're waiting." Ginny said patiently, and popped an Acid Pop into her mouth. Seconds later, she took it out of her mouth, panting and waving her hand in front of her face, apparently wafting the sour taste from her mouth. Her face was scrunched up tight, and everyone was laughing. She took a rather long sip from her diet coke, and then was able to breathe normally.

"So. Sour." Was all she could say, and everyone only laughed. She, instead, got the flavor from her mouth with a Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Bean, and then turned back to Luna, yet again, who was organizing her thoughts in her mind.

"Ok, it all started like this. Since I first was introduced to him properly last year, I haven't stopped thinking about him. Every time I run into him in the halls, some days literally," Everyone giggled, "I just feel my heart speed up. He smiles at me, and I can't help but smile back. All the times I've talked to him, I've really learned to know him well, and learned to appreciate who he is. He's the sweetest, kindest, most caring guy I've ever met."

Everyone _Aww'ed_ yet again. Luna smiled, really wide.

"Seamus dared him to kiss me today. I couldn't believe it. I didn't know if Seamus knew something I didn't or whatever. But I thought he wasn't going to go through with it. I was nervous that I'd gotten my hopes up at least one kiss. But he did it; He kissed me. And I reacted in enough time to kiss him back. It was as if everything I had felt about him was pouring into my mouth through his, and I was just, utterly happy. And then he asked me to be his girlfriend, and I accepted, of course." She finished, the dreamy look on her face once again.

"Wow. I never, honestly, thought Neville would be able to find the courage to ask you out. I will admit, I'd heard him talking about you to Seamus a few times in the common room, thinking no one else was listening. He's liked you for so long, Luna." Hermione told her, and Luna only smiled wider.

The girls, the four best friends, all went in for one last, huge, hug with each other, and they all sighed happily.

At last, they broke from their hug, and Ginny raised her can of diet coke, "Here's to romance, all of us getting what we wanted for so long, and the trip of our lives." She said, her voice rose slightly, as if making a speech.

"To the trip of our lives!" They repeated, raising their cans as well, and clinking them together. They took sips from it, and then went quiet, each in their own little world, where they were sure to stay for quite some time.

* * *

"Well, as Seamus knows, we were playing Truth or Dare, and he dared me to kiss her. I knew you wouldn't let me turn it down, and I wasn't going to. I was just nervous. So I kissed her. And she kissed me back." Neville said, and then looked at Seamus, "Oh, and thanks for making me do that, man. I owe you."

"Don't mention it. I'd heard enough of your complaining. Figured it was about time you did something." Seamus said, and shrugged.

"Still, thanks. I would never have gotten the courage to. But I did, and then I asked her to be my girlfriend, and she said yes. And I feel like the happiest guy in the world." He said, and smiled, Luna's face in his mind.

"I'm the happiest guy ever." Ron argued.

"No, I am." said Harry defensively.

"You're all wrong. I am." Seamus said.

"Rather than argue and becomes bigger prats than we already are. We're _all_ the happiest guys in the world. Agreed?" Ron said, taking charge.

"Yeah, okay." They all said.

"Man, together one day, and Hermione's already rubbed off on you a lot." Seamus said, and Ron threw a pillow at him.

Seamus didn't retaliate, for at that moment, Hannah's voice came into his head, telling him how much she liked him. He went off into his own reverie, as did all the other guys, and they just stayed there- four guys, all with the girl they had always wanted, thinking of that girl and how much it hurt them to be away from her.

_Could it be love? _More than one of them asked themselves that night.

* * *

**Author's Notes: Finally! Done with the chapter! It's really long, but it goes more in depth to everyone's story, except Ron and Hermione's, but this entire thing is about them. I have midterms all next week, so I won't be able to work on the next chapter of this, but as soon as they're over, I'll work on chapter 11 and post that as soon as I can. Possibly a little delay on that- but we'll see what happens. Anyways, I hope you guys liked this chapter, because it was really fun for me figuring out everyone's situation. As always, thanks to my reviewers, especially the ones who told me that the ending to the last chapter wasn't all that bad. Hehe! Love you guys! Please review! My goal is to reach 100 this time! Can we reach it? **


	11. Day 4: All Day Amusement Park

**Disclaimer: If I were JK Rowling, I would have had this up long ago. But Im not, and the characters and everything like that don't belong to me.**

**Author's Notes: All I can say is I'm SO sorry for not getting this up sooner. First it was midterms, then winter break, and then tests and quizzes and band. And then I finished. But it all got deleted and I had to retype these 13 pages. So I'm incredible sorry for not being a good author and getting this up sooner. But I got it up today, before I left on the band trip. I swear I'll try being better about getting the next chapter up. I really hope this chapter was worth the wait. And Thanks to my readers and reviewers who continued to stand by me in my absence. This story would not be what it is if it weren't for you guys. Thanks so much! Now- enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 11: All-Day Amusement Park 

All of room #430 woke up surprisingly early on the morning following the confessions. The curtains on the windows were drawn open so the sunshine poured the room and into their eyes in the dawn of a new day. They hadn't bothered picking up last night, so empty soda cans, candy wrappers and pillows were scattered across the room in shambles. The sheets were partly off the bed, seeing as the four of them had just passed out on the bed they were talking on last night. They had stayed up exceptionally late, being on a massive sugar high, and had talked for all hours.

Hermione, Ginny, and Hannah were sprawled across the top of the bed, and Luna, at the bottom of the bed, was snoring quite loudly. Hannah had drool dripping off her chin.

Ginny was the first one to open her eyes. The second they fluttered open, she looked around the room, and realized she wasn't at Hogwarts or the Burrow, but at South Shore. She sprang from the bed and opened the curtains that covered the glass door. Instantly the room was full of sunlight, and her roommates slowly began to wake up.

"Shut the damn curtains." Luna said, groggy and slightly annoyed.

"But Luna, m'dear," Ginny said in a sing-song voice that should have belonged to the Ravenclaw she was talking to, "Neville could be waiting."

That did it. Luna, too, sprang up, now instantly awake, and accidentally kicked Hannah in the shin.

"Ow." she mumbles, and then opened her eyes, "ugh, what time is it?" she looked at the clock. "7 AM! I'm supposed to meet Seamus for breakfast in an hour!" The three girls who were awake then tiptoed over to Hermione, smiling evilly, and said at the same time "Hermione..."

"What." she said, stuffing a pillow over her head, attempting to drown out their noise. "Get up future Mrs. Ron Weasley." Ginny said, in the same sing-song voice she had used with Luna.

Hermione's eyes widened and a smile replaced her groggy frown. She sat up, smacked Ginny on the arm and went over to the mirror, looking at herself. She was already blushing, and she hadn't even seen her boyfriend yet. They were all blushing, she could see, as the others joined her at the mirror and sighed in unison together. Today was a new day.

* * *

They arrived at the hotel cafeteria at 8:15 AM, getting there fashionably late, as usual. They all glanced around once they got in, looking for the guys. They scanned with their eyes, knowing they were already there, and probably finished with their first helpings of breakfast. Hermione was the first one to spot them, seeing a tall redheaded boy she knew so well.

Ron spotter her at the same moment and smiled, waving her and the rest of the girls over. They made their way over to the circular table, and each of them was greeted by their boyfriends, as well as a good morning hug and sweet little kiss, right on the lips.

"I missed you." Ron said to Hermione, and hugged her tightly.

"I missed you more." She said, and smiled at him, winking.

The girls, in turn, blushed and kissed back, then took seats next to their boyfriends, who were more than happy to be with them.

* * *

They all boarded the Knight Buses, and headed off toward the destination of the day: a muggle amusement park called Busch Gardens. They drive to Busch Gardens was long and bumpy, and they all bounced around in their seats with anticipation as they neared the park. Hermione, being the only muggle born in their group, was supplying everyone with all she knew about the roller coasters and log flume rides.

"So the roller coaster is almost like flying on a broom. It's really fast but it stays on these two bars of metal, called a track. People get in the 'cars' of the roller coaster and them it goes up this big hill on a chain. Then the chain lets go and the roller coaster goes over the hill, and flies around the track, with many turns, loops, and corkscrews! It's such an adrenaline rush!" Hermione concluded, waving her arms in the air, as if illustrating her excitement.

"I don't think I'll be going on any 'rolley costars.'" Ron said, shaking his head back and forth.

"It's 'roller coaster', Ron, and why not?" She put her hands on her hips.

"A car flies off the track!" "Are you scared?" Hermione smirked at him.

"Maybe a little." He confessed, and the other guys sniggered at him.

"Well, if you're scared, then come with me. Maybe I'll hold your hand." She said, and smiled up at him.

"Or maybe I'll hold onto your waist for protection." He flashed her the famous Ron Weasley lopsided grin.

She couldn't help it. "Ron, what good would that do?" she asked, and smiled.

"Makes me feel secure." She rolled her eyes but kissed him on the cheek nonetheless. "Alright, I'll go. But if I die, then you're dying alongside me!" He said, and she laughed.

"Ron, you won't die. Trust me." He sighed, but knew she was right. "We're here!" Hermione shrieked and gathered up her bag.

"Now students," Professor McGonagall began, "This is a muggle amusement park. Therefore, no wands, no sickles, and no talk of magic! We have to be very careful about this. Last time this trip occurred, a student threatened a poor muggle with his wand after he cut him in line. Fifty memories had to be modified that night, and the student was sent home. We are going to try and avoid that experience this time. If we hear about anything unusual misbehavior in conduct, that person, too, will be sent straight home. Understood?" She finished with a stern look on her face. They all nodded, now slightly fearful. McGonagall smirked at their expressions and left the bus, after handing each student a small green ticket into the park..

Ron and Hermione left the bus quickly and almost ran ahead, already having previously discussed being alone all day (no doubt to snog behind some pretzel cart or something). So they sped ahead of their group and through the cement tunnel that led into the park. They handed the muggle worker their tickets and grabbed a map.

Plotting out their day, Hermione decided it was best to get Ron on a roller coaster bright and early to see what they would actually be doing the whole day. The other six, rather confused at Ron and Hermione's quick exit, walked off the bus together, and the couples held hands.

"Why do you think they left so quickly?" Hannah asked, to everyone, but to no one in particular.

Seamus just looked at her. "Han, c'mon. We all know those two lovebird wanted to be alone to go shag under a Ferris Wheel or something." Everyone laughed.

"Can we please leave the topic of my brother and shagging?" Ginny said, beginning to go into one of her 'eww' fits.

Harry laughed and put his arm around her. "Let's start or day, Gin. Six magic folk in an amusement park with no muggle-born tour guide. This should make for an interesting day." They all laughed again, and walked arm-in-arm into the park.

* * *

"Hermione." Ron whined, as he were being pulled into the entrance of the The Big Bad Wolf, a rad metal coaster with no loops, but suspended cars on the track (all joined) by his strong-willed girlfriend.

"Ron," she said simply, tugging at his arm slightly, "it'll all be alright."

He winced as the coaster sailed over their heads with incredible speed, leaving screaming voices echoing through his mind. Hermione laughed and Ron looked very panic-stricken. He was looking at the metal bars which held the track with the utmost fear, as if they were falling out right before his eyes.

He planted his feet firmly on the ground. "Ron, come on," Hermione said, "you'll be fine. You'll like it!"

"If I live through it." He muttered, just loud enough for her to hear him.

She laughed; "Ron, if you do this for me, I promise I'll do something for you later." she winked at him flirtatiously and kissed his cheek.

He looked puzzled, yet intrigued. "But just what did you have in mind?" He flashed her his lopsided grin, knowing she couldn't resist.

She kissed him right below his lips, and then met his eyes to wink at him again. He got some kind of message because he broke out in a hearty blush, and smiled. He allowed her to pull him into the line, where forty or so people were behind the barrier, waiting to get on the ride.

She smiled, "Thank you." she said sweetly, as the pulled him, more unwillingly, to the back of the line to get on the ride. "This might take a little bit." She added, looking at the line of people to the speed it was taking people to get on and off the ride, "But it'll all be worth it."

* * *

Thirty minutes later, they were standing behind the metal bar at the very front of the line, and Ron looked even more scared than before. Hermione could see the fear clouding his eyes, and she smiled. Their coaster has just pulled up into the station and the riders from the previous run were emptying out and reclaiming their belongings on the other side.

The metal bar swung open and Hermione walked past the car to put her sandals and bag at the side. Then she joined Ron and buckled her seatbelt. He was shaking slightly.

"I think it's cute how you're afraid." She said, and smiled at him.

"Bravery is cuter." He said, and smiled back at her.

"Ron, it'll be fine. I promise." She said, and he took her hand and raised it to his lips, kissing it gently. Then he set their hands down next to them, intertwining their fingers. She squeezed his hand gently, and the coaster began to leave the station slowly, rounding a corner then clinking its way up the first major hill. Clink, Clink, Clink.

Ron could feel his heart pounding out of his chest, and he tried not to look behind him. They were seated in the third car from the front, and he was on the end, looking over at the people on the ground, who were becoming smaller and smaller as the coaster continued to clink its way up higher. At long last they were at the top, and Ron took a deep breath, bracing himself. _This is_ it, he thought, _No turning back now._

Hermione cast one more look at her boyfriend before the chain let go of the coaster and they soared around the track; down the first hill, gaining speed. She let out a scream of pure adrenaline rush and let the wind whip at her face and let the forces tangle her hair above her head. Turn after turn, they went, the coaster whipping their necks at the side, still faster, until...

Clink, Clink, Clink. They stopped, somewhat abruptly, as the second chain grabbed onto the coaster and pulled it up the second hill, which was slightly shorter than the first one. Hermione looked at her white-faced boyfriend, and chuckled slightly. His expression was unreadable, and his eyes seemed to be glued open. Through her concern, it was still funny. She kissed him on the cheek and he blinked once, and only once.

The coaster clinked its way higher up by the chain and then it let go again. They sailed down the second hill, over a series of smaller ones, until they came by the camera. Hermione leaned over and kissed Ron gently on the cheek right in time, and he smiled at her, still frozen slightly. The coaster veered into the station and came to a halt.

The riders on board clapped and the seatbelts unsnapped, and Hermione got up from her seat and retrieved her sandals and bag from the side. Ron, walking almost in a daze, joined her a minute later, recollecting himself.

"Ron?" She asked, worry in her voice.

"That was...that was..." he started, his mouth dry and his eyes slightly glazed over, "that was...that was..."

She snapped her fingers in front of his eyes and, becoming more worried by the second.

"BLOODY BRILLIANT!" He yelled, and enveloped her in a huge one-armed hug, smiling brightly. She laughed and let out a huge sigh of relief, then walked with him down the exit ramp out into the main park.

"You really liked it?" She asked him, still laughing. "Yeah! The speed, the thrill, the fear! It was like quidditch, except no brooms and you could sit next to the girl you love!" He shouted enthusiastically.

They walked down the wooden planks of the exit ramp, their feet moving in unison, and made their way down to the photo booth.

They scanned with their eyes over the television monitors that displayed the various cars at the times the pictures were taken. They saw their faces on the screen, which was a still-Hermione kissing a shocked still-Ron on the cheek. The expressions on both of their faces were rather humorous.

Hermione handed the muggle behind the counter a $10 and in a few minutes, their picture was printed and ready.

"That's a keeper." Ron said, smiling down fondly at the muggle picture.

"It sure is." Hermione replied, smiling down at the picture of them as if it were their child.

"I have an idea." Ron said to her, wiggling his eyebrows.

She rolled her eyes, "What's that, Ron?"

"More coasters!" He shouted, and grabbed her and, running off with her towards the next nearest coaster around. Hermione had to admit that riding with Ron was rather enjoyable. Now that he knew he wouldn't die, he was having a lot more fun. They got several more pictures, and split the cost, sharing them. Sharing their memories.

- - - - -

After a couple hours of waiting in line and a few rides on bigger and faster coasters, they decided to take a breath.

"I'm starved." Ron said, rubbing his stomach.

Hermione chuckled, "You're always hungry." She heard her stomach rumble, too, "although I suppose it wouldn't hurt to get a bite to eat."

"Thanks, Babe." He said, and kissed her on the cheek.

"No problem." She said, smiling. They walked over to the little burger and fries shack, and Ron looked at the menu, evidently puzzled.

"I'll take a burger, no pickles, a medium fries, and a large diet coke." Hermione said to the cashier. Ron gaped at her, impressed. Hermione saw him. "Ron, I'm a muggleborn, remember?" She said, seeing what was in his mind. This was Ron after all. He wasn't that hard to figure out.

"Oh, yeah." He said, blushing slightly. "Do you want me to order for you?" She asked, seeing the still perplexed look on his face.

"No thanks. I think I've got it." He said, looking nervously from the menu, to the cashier, back to the menu.

He gulped and approached the checkout counter. "Um, I'll have the French fries."

"What size?" The cashier asked, lazily.

"Um...big." He said, feeling the pressure on him all of a sudden.

The cashier snorted at him, "You mean 'large'?"

"Yeah, that one." He said, rubbing the back of his neck, embarrassed.

"That'll be $2.50." The cashier said, chomping on her gum.

Hermione handed over the cash to both of them over the counter, and they retrieved their food. Then, they found a small, round table with two chairs at it. She set the tray down, and wiped the table with a napkin, to make sure it was sanitary. They both sat down and began eating, when they heard...

"Hiya Ron, Hermione." It was Colin Creevey.

"Um... Hey Colin." Ron said, finishing off another fry. "Hi," Hermione said, not looking up, for fear they would be stuck with him for the whole day.

"Can I hang out with you guys today?" He looked hopeful.

_Too late._ She thought.

"Um...sure." Ron said, unsure, but being kind. Hermione looked from her boyfriend to the fellow younger Gryffindor and stared, open-mouthed. Ron had been the one who wanted to be alone today. Ron didn't want to be bothered with anyone else. Ron had suggested they run ahead of the crowd to be by themselves. And now Ron was allowing Colin to be with them, and this was certainly something Hermione didn't want.

"That's okay, right Hermione?" Ron asked, looking at her nervously, waking her from her internal rant.

"Yeah, sure." She said, lazily.

"Gee, thanks!" Colin said, and pulled up a chair to join them. He began to pick at Ron's fries.

"Colin?" Hermione asked him, turning to the fifth year, "Not to sound rude, but I thought you were hanging out with Justin today."

"I was," He began, looking downcast, "But I lost him. He went on Alpengeist, and then I couldn't find him after he came off. I'm terrified of roller coasters, so I stayed off. But, yeah."

_This could come in handy._ Hermione thought, storing the fact that he hated roller coasters in her mind.

"Ready to go?" Ron asked them, throwing his wrappers and empty cups into the nearby garbage can. They nodded. Colin was very enthusiastic not to be left out of anything this time and followed behind them eagerly, clutching his muggle backpack on his shoulders. Ron and Hermione walked somewhat quickly, whispering in hushed tones, so that he couldn't hear them, but loud enough so each of them could hear each other.

"I can't believe you said he could come!" Hermione whispered angrily.

"What did you expect me to say? 'Oh, sorry Colin, but I don't want to hang out with you. Ever.'" He mimicked, whispering.

"No, not that harsh, but something along those lines!"

"I noticed you weren't speaking up." He said quietly, rounding on her.

"You told him 'sure' before I could say anything! I couldn't just take it back, you know." She said, defensively.

"Whatever." He said, looking away from her now. "Well, what do you suggest we do?" He said after a minute, recollecting himself, assured so he wouldn't get angry.

'I say we go on a lot of roller coasters, and leave him behind. Maybe we'll get so tired and leave after a little bit." She left it as an idea.

"And if he wants to come on with us?" Ron added as an afterthought.

"He's terrified. He won't want to come on."

"How do you know all this?"

"He just said it, Ron."

"Oh," He was racking his brain to see if he really said that or not, "Okay then."

"Hey Col?" Hermione called back to him.

"Yeah?" He was jogging to try and keep up with them.

"Ron and I are going to go on Alpengeist, okay?" She shouted over the roar of the crowd.

"Okay." He looked downcast, but sat on a small park bench nearby, sulking slightly and he sighed heavily.

With that, Ron and Hermione trotted over into the growing line, which would take about an hour or so to extinguish. They didn't mind, though. Yeah, the wait would be unbearable at times, but they were kind people and they weren't about to let Colin ruin their day.

* * *

After they had ridden Alpengeist, Lochness Monster, The Big Bad Wolf, Apollo's Chariot, and Lochness Monster again, all in the length of about 4 hours, they were beginning to get agitated. This was the fifth time that they had walked off the exit ramp to a coaster to see Colin's bright and smiling face sitting at the park bench, bored, but pleased nonetheless.

"Come on." Ron said, after they had failed the fifth time. He took her hand and ducked below the crowd of people, invisible from view from where Colin would be sitting, and he waddled as he slipped out of the exit, blending in with the crowd.

"What are we doing?" She asked, allowing him to lead her.

"We're leaving him." He said, and wove in and out of the stampede.

"What! We can't do that!" She said, raising her voice.

"Yes, we can! You have your bag. You have your wallet. I have my wallet. WE have the bag of pictures. We're set to go." He said, pulling her along, standing up now.

"Ron!" She yelled, "You're forgetting one thing."

"What?" He said, still walking off toward nowhere.

"Colin!" She said, her voice raised, "We can't leave him. How's he going to get back to the hotel? How's he going to know where to go? Tell me, Ron, I'd love to know how you possibly think we can just leave him." She folded one arm over her chest. Her other arm was still being guided by him.

"Hermione. He'll be fine. He's fifteen years old. He can hold his own. Now come on. The entrance into the sweet shop is about three minutes away. So we have to walk quickly." He said, looking toward the destination. She pulled her hand out of his grasp angrily.

"Stop trying to control me!" She yelled, her eyes narrowed very dangerously.

"I'm not trying to control you!" He shouted back at her, his anger flaring.

"Yes, you are!" She yelled back, growing red with fury.

"No, I'm not! If I was, I wouldn't do it!" His ears were flaming red now.

"What's going on here?" Ginny asked, clearly confused, coming upon them while sipping her drink. The others were behind her, chewing some sweets they had just healthily purchased.

"Your brother." Hermione said, through clenched teeth, not taking her eyes from Ron's.

"Yeah," Ginny said, as the others approached closer, "what about him?"

"He's trying to control me!" She yelled, back at him, her anger coming loose again.

"No, I'm not!" He yelled, their faces dangerously close.

"Yes, you are!"

"No, I'm not!"

"Yes!"

"No!"

"YES!"

"Hermione?" Ginny asked timidly, evidently very afraid.

"WHAT!" Hermione was in full-out rage mode now. She cleared her throat and remembered she was now speaking to Ginny, not Ron.

"Calm down, please." She saw Hermione relax the tiniest bit. "I was going to ask you if you wanted to come with us for a bit. We girls can go, and we'll let the other boys take care of Ron. But at the way you two are going, I don't think it's safe to be near each other right now."

"Fine." Hermione said, clenching her teeth again. She walked over to Ginny, still angry, not looking back at Ron, who had joined the guys, and had already separated themselves to his side during the argument, sensing something like this would be occurring.

"I won't be seeing you later." She spat back over her shoulder at him as they walked away, in opposite directions.

"Yeah, you can count on that!" He bellowed back, and jammed his hands into his front pockets, and muttered something under his breath, which no one could quite comprehend.

As the groups passed each other, Harry whispered something into Ginny's ear, which no one else could hear, and she nodded, agreeing. And the girls and boys walked off into separate directions. Everyone but Ron and Hermione were already planning a reconciliation for them, but they had no idea. They were too good to be true, and nothing like Colin was going to come between them. Something had to be done.  
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**A/N: Please review so I have things to read once I get back from my band trip! A huge thanks again to everyone who stayed by me and read this right now. I love you guys!**


	12. Lost and Confused

**Disclaimer: Not mine!**

**Author's Notes: I'm starting this somewhat early. Thank you to all my reviewers! I love you guys! These past few weeks have been crazy. There's been absolutely no time to start this next chapter! First, there was the band trip, which was immense fun, by the way. Next, I caught up on sleep and then I went to Las Vegas. After that was a week of school but I had this crazy huge project on Oliver Twist to get done, not to mention I had to finish reading the book. That was due last Friday. And then, I went to Pennsylvania. So, now I'm home and I have enough time where I can at least begin the next chapter in our adventure here. I lost my original plans, but there's only going to be 3 more chapters in this story, plus I have plans for a sequel if you guys are interested. And no need to worry because I remember what I was going to write about anyways. Once again, a huge thanks to my reviewers who have not lost faith in me and continue to read and review. This chapter is for all you guys. Enjoy!

* * *

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Chapter 12: Lost and Confused

The sunny day at the amusement park had turned into a storm, internally. All of the Hogwarts eight (as they had nicknamed themselves on the ride there), were each fighting a battle. Ron and Hermione were the couple, and they were facing their own battles alone.

Hermione could not stop huffing for the rest of the day she spent with her roommates, and inside, she was kicking herself.

She had jumped to conclusions, and she knew it. She had a tendency to do that and she often tried to avoid such situations. But he wasn't being the best person she knew he was. He wanted to deliberately ditch a member of their party to go off on their own, and she did not have it in her heart to do such a thing.

But she overreacted. She yelled at him and he had yelled back at her. And while, thank goodness no words of hatred or insults had been exchanged, otherwise she might just feel ten times worse than she did already.

She leaned her head on Ginny's shoulder as they walked forward, to some unknown destination, and her friend let her, doing the best to soothe her and make her calm down.

"It's okay, Hermione." Ginny said to her, and Hannah and Luna muttered the same things to her as they walked still, and they eventually settled down at a picnic table, and Hermione let a few tears fall.

"Thanks, you guys," She said, and wiped a tear from her eye. "I still can't believe him, though!"

"Yeah, my brother can definitely be a thickhead." Ginny said back to her, and everyone, Hermione included, laughed slightly, "Hermione, do you want us to get you napkins or something?"

She nodded. "Okay."

So the two sixth-years and the fifth-year got up and went over to a nearby napkin dispenser, retrieving several paper parcels from the dispenser.

"So, the plan is on, right Ginny?" Luna whispered, when Hermione was out of earshot.

"Yeah. They got together when they were fighting. Surely they can make up over one, too. They have before. It's in their history, after all. The only problem now is finding the guys." Ginny responded, with a hint of worry in her voice.

"But you and Harry have a plan, right?"

"Yeah. I just hope we find them in time."

* * *

**Meanwhile…**

Ron angrily threw a baseball at the tower of bottles in hopes of winning a prize. In truth, he wasn't really after the prize, but this was the only activity Harry could think of that would let him resolve his anger without hurting anyone. At least, Harry hoped he wouldn't hurt anyone.

Clearly, he was wrong. All the guys around him flinched as the bottles flew off the shelf, hitting the employee in the back of the head and causing him to fall over, and the others to break, with great force, against the walls of the tiny booth.

"Er- Ron? Let's move on to something else, shall we?" Harry asked him nervously, grabbing his shirt and attempting to lead him elsewhere. Ron eventually left, tossing Neville the teddy bear he had received.

"Give that to Luna, from you." He said, through gritted teeth. Neville just caught the bear, and looked at it.

"Thanks." He said quietly. Macho as all of them were, they were all somewhat frightened of Ron now.

Ron navigated himself to the dart board with the balloons. He slapped a 5 dollar bill on the counter and received fifteen darts from the employee.

"Whoa. Ron, I don't think darts is the best activity right now, either." Harry said, grabbing the darts, but Ron's reflexes were quicker than Harry's.

"No, Harry. I need to do something. And throwing things is the only way I see fit to let my anger out. I can't use… you know… right now, either." Ron was referring to magic, but being in the midst of a muggle, all of the guys caught Ron's drift, and the employee looked confused.

"Go on, Ron."

Ron seized a dart, and plucked it nervously between his fingers, and threw it with built up anger and force at the board in front of him. It popped one balloon.

He grabbed another, throwing it harder and harder as he went through more darts. His face was turning a shade of purple, one similar to that Harry had seen on Uncle Vernon, and his knuckles where white from his tight grip.

"How could I do that? What kind of bloody prat am I to get his own girlfriend away from him?" He threw each dart harder after every few words. He put his head down low onto his chest and shifted all his weight onto his hands, where he held onto the counter.

When he lifted his head a few minutes later, his voice was shaky, and he seemed to be very worried and nervous.

"Harry?" He said, putting his head down again, and lifting it to look towards his best friend.

"Yeah?" Harry answered.

"I miss her. I miss her so much." He said, and he let go of the counter and faced the other way, with his back on it, and slid down until he was sitting on the floor, his back supported by the counter, and he was holding his head in his hands.

Harry clapped him on the shoulder, "I know you do, mate, I know you do. But you'll both move past this. The best couples, after all, can last through fights, arguments, and teasing."

"Thanks." Ron muttered softly, looking off in the distance.

Harry extended a hand, and Ron grabbed it, and Harry helped him up off the floor, and Ron dusted off the bottom off his muggle pants, which had retained some amount of dirt in the brief period he spent on the ground.

"Let's go roam the park for a bit, okay? We don't have to go anywhere in particular. We can play more games or go on more coasters, if you'd like. It'll be fun! In time, you'll get better, and then you'll be well enough to face her." Harry said, offering both comfort and amusement to his hurting friend.

Ron's expression changed. The red-head suddenly appeared rigid behind his eyes, and he seemed to be trying to hide his hurt, and use some mental strengthening charm on himself. However, though the mask of lies hid well, everyone knew better, and that the strong Ron was still a fragile, delicate young man, and they knew they had to respect that.

He nodded, and the guys began running off in search of nowhere.

* * *

"Want another cotton candy?" Hannah asked Hermione, drawing out another green bill from her pocket, which was getting smaller and less puffy by the second.

Hermione nodded, and another swab of light pink sugar was handed her way. She picked at it, taking small fingertip-fulls, and placing the sweet gently into her mouth. Her mind was still elsewhere, on the topic of Ron Weasley, and his red mop of hair seemed to be entrancing her mind.

Her roommates and best friends enjoyed the sweets as well, and were generously helping her polish off her third stick of cotton candy.

"Cheer up, 'Mione, it'll get better." Luna said, stuffing a rather large piece into her petite mouth and getting part of it stuck to her face.

Hermione just sighed, her shoulders shrugging for her, and nodded her head simultaneously, as if automatic. "I hope so."

Ginny looked to the sky, licking the sticky sugar off her fingers. The afternoon was beginning to fade, and the mesmerizing colors of a sunset seemed to be taking place on the western night sky. The faintest line of salmon pink was visible on the horizon, and the sun itself was setting low.

"Hey, let's go up on the Observation Tower. We can watch the sunset from up there." She offered, and the other two wiped their fingers on a napkin, and looked toward Hermione, rising from their seats on the rusting, wooden bench.

Hermione let a small smile escape from her lips.

"Alright." She said, and rose from her seat as well. The other girls smiled and they all picked up their bags and headed toward the rather short line of the Observation Tower.

* * *

For the guys, 'nowhere' led them somewhere, as it always seems to do with the male species, and 'somewhere' happened to be the back of the line for a nighttime ride on Alpengeist.

The four of them were anxious, as going on the frightful coaster was one thing, but riding it in the complete darkness was a whole different experience.

From the line they had watched the sunset, not caring all that much, being guys and all, and had only anticipated the ride to come.

Night was approaching fast, and the darkness grew and grew. The moon was becoming more visible and the sun, less.

Finally, the four were able to see coasters pulling out of the gate as they had reached the very front of the line. Yellow-tinted, luminescent light poured out of the lamps overhead, spotlighting those about to go on the ride. Moths and gnats were buzzing around the lights, as well as the heads of those below them. Several hands swatted at the pesky insects.

While waiting in line, Ron busied himself looking at inscriptions and doodles left by former passers-by on the chipping oak barriers. Remarks of love seemed to be the most common, as well as people named Matt and Zach, who apparently were there some time ago.

He was quite drawn to one in particular, which was a small heart with an arrow through it and contained the letter 'H' inside it. Whether it was left by a girl or guy was unknown, but it still contained the letter of his Hermione. He traced the heard with his right forefinger and smiled slightly. How he loved her, how he missed her.

He chuckled at some of the inscriptions, which were cuss words and proclaims of certain individuals "coming out of their closet." How muggles could be so foolish and careless. They were all the same, regardless.

Seamus was the one to snap him out of his reverie, and he waved a hand in front of Ron's glazed face.

"We're next in line." He said, still waving his hand.

"What? Oh, yeah." Ron said, remembering they were waiting in line. The air was cool now, and he folded his arms across his chest in an ability to circulate body heat.

At long last, it was their turn. Now pumped and full of energy, all four of them jumped into the coaster, excitedly, and strapped themselves in. They were in for a wild ride.

* * *

From 150 feet up, the surrounding area was breathtaking. The sun was just beginning to set, and it cast an aura of tranquility and romance over its land. Colors of pale orange, salmon pink, and ruby red were the most vibrant in the sky, though the midnight blue was taking over fast.

Leaning over the edge of the tower, all girls seemed to sigh in unison. It was a beautiful sight. A slight chill crept over each of their bare arms, and each shivered slightly.

The moon was full and bright, and clouds shifted from its position, revealing the full intensity of the galactic glare. It was such a nice night. Not the best day, maybe, but it was turning out to be a gorgeous night.

"I wish Neville were here." Luna sighed dreamily, folding one hand under her shin and looking out at the landscape before them.

"Why? So you two could snog in that corner?" Ginny teased, nodding her head to the far right, where a dark corner was barely visible against the receding light.

Luna laughed and pushed her gently, "Shut up. You know if Harry was here, you guys wouldn't have noticed this sunset. Heck, you guys probably wouldn't be even breaking for air."

Ginny blushed scarlet. She knew it was true, Luna it was true; They all knew it was true.

"Let's cut to the chase. All of us know if each of our guys were here none of us would be talking, we'd be too busy snogging them senseless." Hannah said matter-of-factly.

They all nodded and said, at around the same time, "Yeah, you're right."

Hermione remembered why she wasn't with Ron at the moment, enjoying the beauty of nature, and she frowned slightly, just enough so her friends could catch her unhappiness. They all got her into a small one-armed hug, and they walked back into the elevator, supporting her.

"You'll make it through this, Hermione. We know you can." Ginny said, and embraced her like a sister.

* * *

The coaster pulled back into the station, well after dark, and off of it came four very adrenaline-rushed teenage boys, who appeared to be ecstatic with amusement and filled with laughter.

"That was… awesome!" Seamus shouted, at the top of his lungs.

"Sheer brilliance!" Neville agreed.

Ron and Harry simply beamed and joined in the laughter and happiness that each of the boys emitted.

Harry looked at his muggle watch, "Hey, it's almost 9, we should start heading back to the buses."

The other guys nodded, and began walking off in the path which they believed they had come, off into the direction of the stars and the midnight twilight of a clear, spring night.

* * *

After settling for some ice cream ("Comfort food!" as Luna had explained.), the girls were just sitting around under the stars, looking up at them occasionally and sighing, each one thinking the same thing, except Hermione.

Ginny looked to the muggle watch that was visible on her wrist. Dumbledore had given all of them a watch, in hopes that since they could not use magic, they might make use of some of the simpler traditions muggles had set, and possibly appear back to the Knight Buses on time. It was a hope he had wished to fulfill.

"It's 8:55," She said, "McGonagall wanted us back at the buses at 9:15. We should start heading back there now.

"I suppose." Hermione said, scratching the back of her head and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

Before they vacated the little pavilion where they had gotten the "comfort food", Luna whispered to Ginny, "Is the pearl in the river?"

"The pearl is in the river." Ginny responded, worry evident in her tone.

Luna nodded, half-excitedly, and sent a nod and a wink over to Hannah, who tried her hardest not to smile. The plan was beginning.

* * *

"Hey Harry?" Ron asked, looking around, "Everyone else is heading that way," he pointed to the left, "shouldn't we follow them?"

"No." Harry said, firmly, "Going straight is a shortcut. Believe me. I checked the map before."

Ron looked hesitant and looked down at the ground, which was just enough time for Harry to wink at Seamus, who winked at Neville, who all nodded in agreement. They knew what the wink meant, for Harry had told them precisely what it had meant before.

"Yeah, Harry's right, Ron. I saw that too. This will slide many minutes off our walking distance, which is good, because we're already running late. Just think of the time we'll save! Good thing Harry knew the map!" Seamus said, and nudged Harry slightly.

Harry rolled his eyes. He had told them to play along, not to be over-dramatic.

* * *

**FLASHBACK**

_While Ron was in the loo, Harry had pulled Seamus and Neville aside, well out of Ron's earshot even if he was outside the door._

"_Is he going to mope about Hermione all day?" Neville asked, kicking a small rock._

"_That's why I pulled you guys out here." Harry said, checking over his shoulder constantly to make sure his best friend would not walk up behind him and hear what he was saying. "I have a plan."_

"_Don't sound like The Godfather, Harry. Just tell us." Seamus laughed._

"_You can't tell Ron." _

"_What can't we tell Ron?" Seamus shouted loudly, and Harry slapped him on the head._

"_Knock it off! I'm being serious here! He can't know."_

"_Alright, alright." Seamus said, rubbing the spot where he had just been hit, "You can count the secret safe with me."_

"_Neville?" Harry asked, turning to his other roommate._

"_Yeah, yeah. I'm trustworthy." Neville said, stepping back, for fear he, too, would be slapped._

"_Ok. Then I have to tell you guys something." Harry said, taking on a very_ _serious tone._

_They just looked at him, ears funny intent on listening to his every word._

"_Ginny and I," He began, and Seamus immediately clapped him on the back._

"_Way to go, Harry! You stud!" He said, and jabbed his fist in the air._

"_No!" Harry said, rounding on him, "Not that!"_

"_Oh." Seamus looked slightly downcast and Neville was having a hard time keeping a straight face._

"_What I was going to say was that before we took Ron and Hermione, she and I made a plan. When we're traveling back to the buses, we're going to get lost, on purpose, until they made up. We just need to get them isolated from everyone else." He concluded, and they nodded._

"_How do we get them isolated?" Neville asked._

"_Just follow my lead."_

**END FLASHBACK

* * *

**

"Hermione Granger? Hello?" Hannah was waving a hand in front of her face as Hermione began drifting toward the left as they were exiting through the iron gates from the park.

"Oh. Everyone's going this way." She said, pointing her left thumb toward the area she had been wandering towards.

"But they don't know the shortcut." Ginny chimed in, nudging her roommates in the arm.

"There's no shortcut…" Hermione said, being the smart witch she was.

"See those people walking out there?" Ginny pointed to several small figures walking in the darkness, illuminated by several dim streetlights that lined the many-mile parking lot.

"Yeah," Hermione said, "what about them?"

"They're using it, too." Ginny said lamely, and tugged on her friend's arm, who went less-than-willfully, straight ahead, instead of left, the real way to the buses.

* * *

**_15 minutes later…_**

"Harry, where the bloody hell are we going?" Ron asked, looking around, slightly agitated, "I don't see the buses."

"I think I might've taken a wrong turn." Harry said, looking around, pretending to look worried.

"Blimey, you have." Ron said, "now we're lost."

"Let's backtrack," Neville suggested, and pointed back to the way from which they had come.

He wheeled around and came face-to-face with Fred Weasley.

"Fred!" Ron asked, wide-eyed, in disbelief.

"_Fred!"_ Harry said at the same time, with just as much shock.

"Little brother!" Fred said, mimicking his shock, and then laughing as Angelina, George, and Katie brought up the rear behind him.

"What are _you _doing out here?" Harry asked him, eyes still wide.

"I should be asking you the same question." George piped in, looking at the four sixth-years inquisitively.

"Faulty detour." Ron muttered, eyeing daggers at his best friend.

Harry sighed inadvertently, and said, half-believably, "I thought this was a shortcut back to the buses."

"Well, Harry, my boy, you're lost."

"What about you?"

"We only followed you." Fred said, smiling slightly.

"Dear little brother, are you lonely out here without your Hermione?" George asked, clapping the youngest Weasley man on the back.

"I bet he's just aching for a good snog right about now." Fred joined in, putting his arm around his youngest brother.

"Right you are, partner-in-crime. He's probably coming up with all kinds of fantasies right now. Oh, are we making you uncomfortable Ickle Ronnikins?" Fred sniggered, seeing the angered look on Ron's face, and his flaming red ears.

"Bugger off!" Ron yelled, yanking himself from the arms of his two older twin brothers, who still had a bit of maturing to do.

"What's gotten into him?" George asked, more to Harry than anyone else.

"You know," Katie started, more joining the group "you're going to be a Daddy soon, George, you might want to start acting a little more mature."

George smiled innocently, "Immature? Me? Nah…"

Katie smiled at him and laughed a little, pulling him in to a tight hug, as George kissed her temple.

"How touching." Ron said bitterly, crossing his arms and sitting down on the curb a couple feet away.

"What's seriously wrong with him?" Angelina asked to Harry, gesturing over to Ron.

"He had a rather large row with Hermione." Harry said simply, and Angelina nodded.

"Poor guy. How long do you think it'll take for them to make up this time?" She asked quietly.

"Harry? What are you guys doing out here." came a small, no believable female voice.

"Oh, Gin. Hey!" Harry said, hugging her, and very obviously acting.

"I saw people out here so I thought this was the way to the buses." Ginny said, trying to sound both worried and confused, and obviously doing a bad job at it.

"I'm not the best navigator." Harry suggested.

"You mean…?" Hannah piped in, walking up next to her.

"We're lost." Harry said simply.

"Well that's just great, Harry," Hermione said, angrily, throwing her hands up in the air.

"Hey 'Mione…" He said, a little afraid.

"Hi." She said, looking at him resentfully.

"Hey all!" It was Parvati Patil.

Harry mentally cursed himself. Blimey, this was not going at all as planned.

"Lavender? Parvati? _Dean?_" Luna looked at them, knowing the plan, and knowing that they definitely weren't part of it.

"What are you doing here?" Seamus asked, looking from Harry to the other Gryffindors with slight amusement, as well as shock, similar to the expression Harry had worn when he saw the twins earlier.

"Following you guys, of course!" Lavender said cheerily, "this is the right way, isn't it?"

"No." Ron huffed gloomily from his spot on the curb.

"Then where are we?" Parvati asked, looking around inquisitively.

"I don't know," Harry said, half-honestly, "I think we're out in the middle of the parking lot, but I can't tell which way's which."

"Well isn't that just _perfect?"_ Ron said, angrily, getting up from the curb and jumping to the height of his best friend and staring at him with rage, "we're lost out here in a place we've never been to before, it's pitch black out except for the bloody streetlights which offer no light whatsoever, and to top it all off, I had an awful row with- _Hermione!"_

His gaze had shifted from their angry position on his best male friend, to his girlfriend, whom he only had noticed was there.

"Ron." She said, exhaling, now finally acknowledging his presence.

"Er- hi." He said, somewhat dully, not even realizing his eyes were still narrowed at her, as memories from before came back to him.

"What are _you_ doing out here?" She asked, narrowing her eyes back at him.

"Harry." He said, gesturing to his raven-haired friend, who was the culprit behind the heist, "_you?"_

"Ginny." She said, pointing to his younger sister.

"Well, I believe the happy couple is responsible yet again for putting their noses in our business." Ron said, glaring daggers at the two, who decided to turn to Fred and George and engage in some kind of conversation as quickly as they could.

Ron clenched his fists, but Hermione stopped him from going any further.

"Ron. It's not worth it. They're just trying to act in our best interest, whether it works or not." She said quickly, with one arm out in front of her on him to stop him from hitting their friend. She felt his tension ease up slightly, and she dropped her arm.

"Hermione, this is ridiculous." He said, softening his expression a little bit, and he took her hand and led her over to the curb, only to see that, at the moment, it was being temporarily occupied. He stopped on his tracks and silenced his girlfriend softly.

Katie Bell was sitting on the curb, with an expression of confusion and shock on her face, as George Weasley was standing close to her, looking more nervous than his little brother had ever seen him, and a smile on his face, while his ears and face were in a deep crimson blush.

"Katie, you're the most beautiful woman I've ever met, and by far, the most fantastic. You're exceptionally kind, caring, loving, funny, and compassionate, as well as passionate about those people and things you care about most of all. You have a bravery that surpasses what most women have, and it is your courage that I was first drawn to. I love you more than life itself and I would love nothing more than to spend eternity with you." His blush was growing deeper and deeper with every word he spoke, and his smile only grew.

He got down onto one knee as tears began to fall from his girlfriend's eyes as she realized what he was doing. She put a hand to her mouth and he took the other one in both of his hands. He kissed it softly, then looked back up deeply into her eyes, and said softly, "Will you marry me?"

Tears kept falling from her eyes and she nodded, the biggest smile evident on her face, as she said, "Yes!" eagerly.

George let out a huge sigh of relief, and smiled back up at her. He reached into his shirt pocket and pulled out a small box, and opened it, revealing a beautiful platinum ring, with a rather largeone carat diamond in its center. Katie gasped, and George put the ring onto her left ring finger.

Katie pulled him up off the ground into a huge hug, and George kissed her passionately on the lips, and she, of course, kissed him back. They stayed like that for a few minutes, and their world was still, except for them. They whispered "I love you" to each other at least a dozen times, and it was the sweetest sight any of them had ever witnessed.

They all applauded them, and George raised he and Katie's intertwined hands and shouted, "This lovely woman and I are now engaged to be married!"

Everyone, already knowing this, continued to applaud them, while the others,went to go congratulate the newly engaged couple, giving hugs to each of them and admiring Katie's ring.

Ron and Hermione just watched the sight, for the moment.

"Wow." Ron whispered softly.

"It makes you realize how precious love is." Hermione said, wiping a tear of her own from her eye with her small hand.

"I love you, Hermione." Ron said, and looked far deeply into her eyes.

"I love you, too, Ron." She said, and they hugged, each of them smiling.

"I'm sorry for what I did earlier today," Ron said softly, into her ear, still hugging her. He pulled back, and asked, "forgive me?" He threw the famous lop-sided grin in there that he knew she adored, and she broke out in a smile of her own.

"I'm sorry, too," She said, and continued, "I forgive you, and I hope you forgive me, too."

"You know I do." He said, and he kissed her sweetly on the lips. She kissed him back, just as sweetly, and after they parted, the couple went, hand-in-hand, to go congratulate Ron's elder brother, and his soon-to-be sister-in-law. Times were good, yet again.

* * *

**A/N: I'm really sorry that took so much longer than expected. What'd you goys think? Did you love it or hate it? Please let me know. I promise I'm going to try and get the next chapter up before finals begin, which is in 3 weeks or so. Oy. Anyways, thanks to all who have stayed by me, and please continue to review!**


	13. Rescue Party

**Disclaimer: Yet again, all Harry Potter-related things belong to JK Rowling, who I am not.**

**Author's Notes: I'm really sorry for not getting this up sooner. Even though I'm on summer break, I've been loaded down with things to do and all that, so I had next to no time to get this done before I went away. I'm so incredibly sorry. I really meant to get this up sooner. And then HBP came out and I busied myself with that for two days (what a book, right? I won't say anything in case some of my readers haven't finished yet.) Anyways, thanks to all my wonderful reviewers who reviewed on the story, let's attempt to break 150 this time! Please enjoy this chapter, guys, it's all for you! Oh, and the "cheer" you guys see in a couple minutes is nearly direct-quote from a Junior who shouted this while I was lost in the parking lot of Busch Gardens. Only a few modifications have been made. Enjoy!

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Chapter 13: Rescue Party

The May air was crisp and clean, and no night had ever seemed better. They were still lost, but that didn't matter to anyone in the slightest. George and Katie were engaged, Ron and Hermione had made up, and everyone just seemed to love life in general. It was sheer perfection.

The whole group of them, which included around fifteen people by now. It was turning into quite the party. So that's almost what they had made it into. There were bags of brightly colored jelly slugs and gummy worms that were being passed around from person, and Fred and George managed to conjure up some butterbeer in celebration. ("Nonalcoholic celebratory drinks for the ickle kiddies!" as Fred had said.)

The sounds of blithe and merry happiness echoed throughout the whole parking lot, which was quite large. On several occasions they had tried retracing their steps only to discover it lead them to nowhere. And this time, nowhere did not lead to the roller coaster.

Angelina had jumped onto Fred's back, and he was now carrying her piggy-back. Those two would always be children at heart. Fred, who was having one of the greatest times of his life ever (prior to the wedding, that is) was recalling memories from his Hogwarts days and seemed to have temporarily forgotten his chaperoning duties to become a student again. He made up a cheer-type shout, which the rest of the group laughed to and repeated.

"We're from Hogwarts!" he shouted into the air, at the top of his lungs.

"We're from Hogwarts!" The rest of the group echoed him, even louder.

"Where the heck is our bus!" He shouted again.

"Where the heck is our bus!" The echo came again.

"We don't know where it is…" He seemed to be losing his creative touch.

"We don't know where it is!" The group shouted enthusiastically.

"And neither do the chaperones!" Fred beamed at George, and the two high-fived.

The rest of the group laughed, "And neither do the chaperones!" They shouted loudly, and then let out cat calls and applause.

Ron scooped up Hermione in his arms and carried her. She laughed the entire way, but enjoyed it nonetheless. Who knew being lost could be so fun?

Harry and Ginny were sitting on a curb by the group, holding hands and sitting closely.

"Guys, call me crazy, but I'd like to get back to the hotel at some point before the night is over." Ginny said, tearing her eyes away from Harry's.

"Our dear little sister is right." George said, and pulled out his wand, muttered a charm into it and then said in a few seconds "we're all set."

"What'd you do?" Ron asked him, bringing Hermione back down to her feet. She brushed herself off lightly, then turned back to the Weasley brothers, her hands resting on her hips.

"A simple telecommunication charm." George said, and demonstrated again. The tip of his wand blinked a light shade of red, and then a light shade of apple green.

"Dumbledore should be arriving shortly." Fred said, still carrying Angelina on his back. She seemed to be playing with his hair, not at all eager to return to the adults.

"Oh?" Hermione asked, "I thought Telecommunication Charms only sent a message to another's wand, and were not used as a tracking device."

"Ah, and you are most correct," George said, twirling his wand around in his fingers, "but Frederick and I have been tinkering around with other spells and charms, and through select business with the Order, which you little tikes will know nothing about, we have other, more precise means of communication and tracking."

The rest of the group looked on, astounded.

"Since when did you get so smart?" Ron asked, earning himself an elbow in the stomach from Hermione. She knew it was true, too, that Fred and George weren't exactly geniuses, but she thought it better not to remind them. Ron let out a soft "oof" and rubbed his stomach.

"Ah, my dear, sweet little brother. So young, so naïve, so clueless." Fred said, putting Angelina down onto the ground, much to her dismay. He put an arm loosely around Ron and shook his head.

Ron rolled his eyes. He had no idea what Fred was going on about, and he didn't want to know, either. His older twin brothers still had the minds of perverted 12-year-olds and the maturity to match it. Whatever was on his mind, was better kept inside his mind.

Then, Dean put a hand framing his eyes to look into the distance, blocking off the blinding light from the streetlamps. In his clear line of vision, he saw Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, and Flitwick come into sight, right towards them.

Their group cheered and ran over toward the Professors, all of whom seemed relieved at not losing a number of their students. Fred and George hoisted tiny Professor Flitwick into the air on their shoulders, and the rest just clapped Dumbledore on the back and Seamus even hugged Professor McGonagall, who seemed shocked, but flattered nonetheless.

"Before we head back to our buses," Professor Dumbledore began, "I would like to ask you one thing."

Everyone gulped, expecting to be asked to please pack their things to return home on the following morning, since they had not only used magic in front of muggles (telecommunication charm), but they'd delayed the night's activities but a considerable hour, and in that hour had been reckless and inconsiderate to their fellow students.

"How did you manage to get lost in a parking lot?" Dumbledore smiled, peering down at all 15 of them through his half-moon spectacles.

They all exhaled huge sighs of relief, and Harry started, "Well, I guess my roommates and I were all talking so in depth about how much fun our day was, we walked straight, instead of turning left, thus landing in the middle of the parking lot."

"And I only thought Harry had a shortcut, so, naturally, I led my roommates and I to follow him." Ginny said, piping in.

"We thought the same thing as Ginny." Lavender said sweetly, and Dumbledore knew they were telling the truth. He could see through all of them that the "accident" wasn't quite so accidental, but he knew these kids would never deliberately get lost to be mischievous, besides Fred and George. He could see the reason in their minds, and he just smiled again.

"Very well," he said, then turned to Fred and George, "however, how did our chaperones get lost?"

Katie, saving her new fiancé, and his brother and his fiancée, held up her left hand to the professors and smiled.

McGonagall put a hand over her mouth, "Does this mean-"

George swung his arm over Katie, "Yep, We're getting married."

Everyone could see the tears of happiness in both McGonagall and Dumbledore's eyes, as each professor hugged Katie and shook hands with George. Dumbledore was touched. His two former students were getting married. He'd seen the many rises and falls of their relationship at the beginning, and had even enchanted a few hallways and items to help bring them closer together. It had worked. Now, they were getting married.

"This is certainly a celebration!" Dumbledore said, "There will be one hour longer before curfew tonight."

Everyone cheered and chatter merrily the whole way back to the buses. They'd been closer than they imagined the entire time, lucky for them, and once they all returned to their separate buses.

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Once the infamous Eight returned on their bus, they were greeted with cheering and loud rounds of applause. Ron blushed deep scarlet, and took Hermione by the hand and led her to their seat, through all the hands clapping them on the back and ruffling their hair.

George stood up and announced his engagement to Katie yet again, and louder cheers and congratulatory remarks were shouted across the bus. He told them how because of the blessed event, Dumbledore was allowing them an extra hour of curfew, meaning their curfew for the night was 1 AM, and even louder cheers and squeals were heard.

Everyone, even those at the brink of falling asleep a few minutes ago, were awake and enthusiastic about the night to come. It was their final night (A/N: I know I said it would be a week, but I don't have any ideas for their last night. But seeing as what's coming actually happened on my last night, it's easier to say so) and with a later curfew, good things were bound to happen.

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It was 10 PM by the time they had gotten back to their hotel, and were dismissed from the buses and told to be careful about magic, and all the other rules they had been told during their stay but decided not to follow.

The Infamous Eight, as they had officially named themselves, split to their separate rooms quickly to get snacks and drinks and other things to ensure that the night would last as long as they made it. And sugar seemed the most plausible way to do so.

Ten minutes later, everyone was in the hallway outside the room of the four guys, bags of chips, candy, soda, and other sweets in tow. A few magazines were spread out across the floor, opened to the pages of gossip or fun, pointless quizzes that told the beholder nothing, but were fun to do with a group of friends anyways.

"_What Charm or Spell Best Describes Your Personality?_" Hannah read from the top of a page in TeenWitch, the newest teen magazine written by Rita Skeeter, with publication assists from The Quibbler.

Ginny snorted, and Luna stared off at the wall dreamily, her hands folded under her chin, "I've already taken it, and apparently, I'm the Cheering Charm, because I make people happy."

A couple minutes later, Hannah looked to be calculating something in her mind, and pointed at a side of the magazine, reading it intently, and giggling softly. "Well, evidently I'm _Accio_ because I'm able to 'summon things I want apparent ease.'"

Hermione laughed and Ginny joined her.

"Hey, 'Mione, do this quiz to me." Harry said from across the hall, where he was sitting against the hall, halfway through a bag of potato chips.

"I will-" Ginny began, until a shadow came over the rug they were sitting on and they looked up to see Professor Snape glaring down upon them.

"Potter, Weasleys, Granger, Finnigan, Abbott, Longbottom, Lovegood." He said, his eyes hard and cold, "You are not to sit around in the entranceways. Now, please vacate this hallway and move your little party elsewhere or you all will be sent back to your rooms for the night. Understood?"

They all mumbled 'yes' and picked up the food and drinks, and the magazine, where Hermione marked the page of the quiz, and decided to go to the outdoor pool by the beach, where virtually no one was, and only a few people were on the beach. Almost everyone was in the indoor pool, splashing and flirting, so the outdoors were nice and quiet. Perfect for the Infamous Eight to have some good, private fun.

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There were many beach chairs alongside the shimmering pool, which glittered underneath the small lights of the moon and stars. The plastic chairs all laid desolate and untouched, reflecting a very small portion of the light given from the higher bodies, and the wind was echoing through the air calmly and crisply.

They arranged the chairs the best they could, in a misshapen circle, put all their food out in the middle to share, and resumed their little party, knowing they would break no rules outside by themselves.

Hermione crossed her legs on the long chair she was sitting on and turned to Harry, opening up the copy of TeenWitch they had before, and going back to the same page they were on before, with the quiz.

"Question 1: What is your favorite subject in school?" She asked him, munching on a candy bar.

"Defense Against the Dark Arts." He said, "_except_ when Umbridge teaches."

"Good call, mate." Ron said to him from the next chair over.

"Question 2," Hermione continued, "If you were an animal, what would you be? (This may reflect the form your patronus may take if you are uncertain)."

"Stag, then." He said, promptly making his Patronus from the tip of his wand.

The rest of the group watched it gallop away and over the water, where it disintegrated into a light mist.

Hermione marked something on the magazine, "Question 3: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?"

Harry considered this for a moment, "Hopefully alive, for one. If that happens, then I hope to be an auror and married."

He called Ginny over and held her close to him in her lap, making Ron grimace.

Almost ten minutes later, Hermione asked Harry the final, tenth question.

"Question 10: Describe yourself in one word."

"Er- daring?" He asked, unsure, and Hermione marked it down and calculated his score.

"Well, Harry, you're _Evanesco_." She read the passage underneath the spell, "_While this spell is used only on objects, you are like the spell, because you have a knack for adventure, and disappearing. Others worry about you because they do not often know of your whereabouts. They will stick by you through and through. Your favorite color is white. You also love feather pillows and leather jackets. Because of your personality, you have many close friends who care about you._"

Harry raised an eyebrow, before Ron and himself began chortling.

"That's all you, Harry." Ron said, in fits of laughter, "Leather jackets and feather pillows, disappearing before our very eyes."

Harry just laughed at this and Hermione set the magazine down, and reached into the plastic bag next to her, pulling out a brightly colored bag of potato chips, named _Puffy's Tangy and Sweet Pepper Chips. _

Hermione opened the bag and sniffed it, "Whose are these?" She wrinkled her nose.

"Oh, I got those. I thought they looked unique." Luna said, looking up from her game of Exploding Snap with Neville.

Hermione tasted one, then nearly spit it out. "Lune, I love you and all, but these chips are awful."

"Let me try one of those." Ron said, taking the bag from her and tossing a chip into his mouth. He gagged, but swallowed it anyways. "I love eating as much as the next guy, but Hermione's right, those are horrible."

"I like them." Seamus said, popping a few into his mouth without grimacing.

They stared at him, "You're kidding."

"What, they don't look half-bad." Hannah said, but quickly changed her mind as she got the aftertaste from the chip she had eaten.

She grabbed a couple chips and ran to one of her fellow Hufflepuff friends, whispered something to her, and everyone saw her friend take a couple of the chips and eat them, then her face turned to a painful grimace and she spit the chips out, laughing and glaring at Hannah at the same time. Hannah brought the girl over to their party, where they invited her and gave her a chocolate frog to, like the rest of them, get the taste of the chips out of her mouth.

"You all know Jessica Amato." She said, motioning to the tall brunette girl behind her.

"Sorry, Han, I can't stay. Justin's waiting for me." Apparently, this girl was with Justin Finch-Fletchley. She waved goodbye to the rest of their group and ran off to the indoor pool, where she splashed in and was cradled by her boyfriend.

Seamus was still divulging in the awful chips, seemingly torturing the others by eating them in their presence.

"Finnigan should be the Puffy's Man." Neville joked, and everyone laughed. Seamus puffed out his chest and put on a voice much lower than his own.

"I'm the Puffy's Man. I bring the chips, I eat the chips, I am the chips!" He said, and everyone doubled over in laughter.

Hannah couldn't contain herself. She went over and kissed him, holding the kiss while backing him up, step by step, until his heels were at the edge of the pool. She pulled away and said "I _love _the Puffy's Man." and pushed him in.

Seamus splashed back in the water, the chips floating all around him, going everywhere. He surfaced a second later, mock-glaring at Hannah with a mischievous grin on his lips.

"You." He said, water dripping from his messy hair.

"Me?" She said, pretending to sound afraid.

"Come here, Babe. I have to tell you something. Something _secret_." He said, and motioned for her to come closer.

She fell for it. When she was close enough, he grabbed her by the hand and pulled her in the pool with him. She gave a loud little shriek and went into the water, where Seamus caught her underwater.

"What goes around, comes around." He whispered coyly, and kissed her again, and she promptly kissed him back.

The group was now standing at the edge of the pool, looking down at them and laughing hysterically.

Harry cannon-balled in at the side and everyone followed him, girls included. He held Ginny close to him in the water, being reminded of the day they'd gotten together.

Ron cradled Hermione against him, planting sweet little kisses on her lips every few minutes, each one getting deeper and longer.

After what seemed like mere seconds, a bell sounded. One AM. Their last night was over and done with. Tomorrow they would be leaving, and the trip of their lives would be over. They had many memories to take home with them, and a day still left to have their last bit of mischief. And having their mischief they would do.

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**A/N: Well, I hope everyone liked that. I'm thinking, one or two more chapters left, and two sequels to follow, if you guys would like me to. Expect extreme fluff in the last couple chapters. I'm going to try and get this next chapter up sooner. I'm not going to promise anything, but I'm sure going to try. Thank you to everyone who has been patient with me. Please review, everyone! And also, if you would like me to make a quiz like the one Harry, Hannah, and Luna took, please let me know. I would be happy to do that after my final chapter, for you all to have fun with. **


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